A few hours later found Trinity in a crowded club, techno music blasting and strobe lights illuminating flushed faces and dilated pupils.
Trinity had just taken an ecstasy pill again, and her breathing was heavy. The man she was with had his hands all over her butt but she didn't care because the colors were so pretty and the music was so loud and everything was good.
Little by little though, despite the good feelings that washed over her in waves, Trinity began to get a sense of wrong-ness. For one thing, everyone seemed to look green. Their skin seemed to glow in the dark… and it shimmered. Almost as if it weren't skin at all.
Trinity untangled herself from the man she was with, ignoring his curses and melted into the crowded dance floor, but her nightmare was only just beginning. She felt as if she were drowning, almost gagging, but that was impossible. Struggling to breathe and not to panic, Trinity staggered to a wall and leaned her head against it.
"Talk about… a bad…. trip," she panted as she fought off wave after wave of disorienting nausea.
"Trinity."
Trinity turned around slowly, keeping her hands on the wall to steady herself. In front of her stood a tall, African American man, all dressed in black leather with the most intriguing sunglasses on. The fact the he was in a place where there was almost no light didn't change the fact that the sunglass somehow fit.
"Trinity, you don't have a lot of time. They know you're here, you must go."
Trinity nodded hazily, unable take her gaze off his damn sunglasses. How very interesting… they seem almost too real to be true. Trinity giggled weakly, unaware that she was now leaning against the man who knew her name. Too real…. How can something be too real? Unless nothing is real. Like Alice. She giggled some more as she felt her consciousness slip from her.
Trinity was floating. Her body felt light as a feather, but the moment she tried to move, her limbs felt heavy as lead. Accept her immobility, Trinity focused her entire concentration on her surroundings. Her eyes were useless, because the light all around her was so blindingly white she could not bear to have them open.
She could hear music however, a strange beat so alive and intoxication it seeped into her blood and ran through her veins. Her heart now beat in tune to it, and she felt more at peace than ever before, completely relaxed and yet completely aware of herself and the sensations spreading throughout.
As the pounding beat reached a crescendo, Trinity felt a feeling of ecstasy spread through her body and threw her head back, no longer floating. She opened her eyes slowly, only to find herself in her room, laying on her bed, her head hanging down over its edge.
Feeling her blood rush to her head she sat up quickly and tried to orient herself. She was in her room…. in her room. But she hadn't been… she'd been in that club. And then he came.
"Calm down. Calm down and slow down," she said aloud, trying to use the sound of her voice to reassure herself of the truth of her reality.
Everything looked the same, but looking around, Trinity found it hard to keep a firm grip on things…. Everything seemed too fluid, too shimmery and alive.
"Too real to be true," she whispered, and let herself fall back onto her bed, curling herself into a tight ball and closing her eyes.