The Redpills

By Michael Weyer

Part five: The Key

My name is Rebecca Norton. Becca to my friends.

I guess I'd have to admit I'm your typical high school junior. I act up a lot, I go shopping, hang with friends. I'm okay with school but it's way too boring. I get my real education afterward, at night.

It really does help to be an only child whose parents never pay attention to you. Dad's busy at work, Mom's got work and her "social obligations" so they just throw me whatever cash I need and barely notice I'm gone.

So I go to parties. A lot of parties. I usually wear the same style of outfit, short skirt and boots, knee-high socks, jacket, tie and dark spectacles. Tonight, I feel like a red theme which I think shows me off well.

It was at one party that a guy gave me something. No, not that. It was a key. That's right, a key. The guy looked frazzled about something and told me to keep it safe. Even said some garbage about my life being at stake. Then he bolted and I didn't see him again. I kept the key though, figuring it might be nifty to have as a trinket of some sort.

It was a couple of days later that I started to have the dreams. I can't explain them, really. It's just me walking through this hallway that seems to go on forever and there are doors all over the place. All I see is me walking down with no clue as to why or what it's about.

I try to ignore them. They're just dreams, right? But…I can't shake the feeling it's more important than that. That these dreams…mean something bigger. I just can't figure what.

I've pretty much forgotten them as I enjoy this latest party. I can't remember the name of the club. I sort of follow that whole "friend of a friend" thing to get to them, y'know? It's a bit freaky for my tastes. Lots of people around in S&M gear and some stupid makeup. It's a bit rocking, I gotta admit but I do think it's too much for me.

Unfortunately, when I try to go, some assholes tell me I can't. It's a first for me, I have to admit. I've been tossed from some clubs a couple of times but this is the first someone's told me I can't leave. I try to yell for my friends but it's like they've vanished. Probably already thrown out, which makes me wonder again why I'm being held back.

They put me in some fancy room above the club and lock the door. I pound on it but there's no response. I know there's no use screaming. Even if anyone could hear me, I doubt they'd be willing to help. They already took my phone so no way out of that one either.

I eventually lie on the small couch and curl up and fight to keep from crying. I'm scared. I admit it, I'm scared. It looks like the party may finally be over. I just wish I knew why.

"Are you ready to go?"

I start at the voice and then look up. I see someone standing before me. He's pretty hot, I gotta admit, in the big coat that billows around him and the black glasses. I just shake my head and rub by arms together. "Look, I don't know what I did wrong, ok? I just want to go home! I didn't even want the stupid key!"

"Key? What key?"

I look up at him and realize he's honestly confused. "Wait, you're not from the club?"

"No. What key?"

"I don't know, it's just this thing I got. Guy who gave it to me said it was magic," I answer as I sit up.

"Where's the key now?"

"The bouncer took it."

He nods and motions. "Come on. Let's get out of here." He heads away and I leap to my feet to follow him. I notice the door's open and I wonder how he jimmied the lock. I follow him down the short staircase and onto the main floor of the club. It's empty now except for a pack of guys near the bar.

They're…well, sort of weird, frankly. They're hunched over in dark suits and their faces look like they've got some makeup to make them look like apes. The head bouncer is a big guy with dark skin and sloped brow and in this goofy animal skin coat. He sees us coming and steps forward, the other guys behind him.

"You'd best be taking her back up," he says to Hottie, nodding at me. "He wants to talk to her."

"She's not staying."

The bouncer snorts. "Who are you? Her big brother?"

"Something like that." Hotties' playing it cool, gotta admit that. "I want the key. Please."

"Please?" The bouncer chuckles. "You may be an idiot, but I can't fault your manners." The smile vanishes. "You want that key…you gotta take it from my cold dead ass."

"If that's the way it has to be."

And with that, Hottie is moving and launching himself at the bouncers. He kicks two of them back at once and then slams his elbow into another. He grabs one by the collar and sends him flying over the bar, smashing into the rack of bottles like something out of those old movies my grandpa used to watch.

The bouncer grabs him from behind and I can see Hottie's face tighten in pain as he squeezes hard. He suddenly leaps up and they both go sailing up to the ceiling. The bouncer rams into it back-first and they fall back and twist around so he lands on his back again, this time into the floor.

Hottie's moving again, punching a goon down hard. He spins and plants another with a punch and I can swear the dude's jaw just literally comes apart in the blow. Hottie seems to hang in mid-air and spin before planting both feet into another freaks' jaw and sends him down.

The bouncer's back on his feet and going at Hottie but he ducks the blows and comes up, smashing his fists into ugly's face. The guy goes flying off his feet and this trenchcoat hottie grabs him by his feet and slams him down into the ground so hard it leaves an indention on the floor. Then he twirls the guy around, spinning like a top before letting him go. The bouncer goes smashing through two pillars and finally into the wall and lies still.

I'm caught by the stairs, frozen by what I just saw. Hottie goes over, checks the bouncer and then rises. He holds up a small object that flashes in the light. "Got it. Let's go." He turns and heads out the exit and to the stairs.

I follow, my mind trying to process what I saw while my mouth does its best to keep up. "You sure you wanna be running in that dress?" I follow him up the stairs, pausing as I see some guys hanging on the wall. They're wearing thongs (which with their bodies, they seriously shouldn't be) and black masks and are spread-eagled, with chains hanging them to the wall. "Um, guys? The party's over. You can come down now!" I shake my head and keep up with Hottie.

We enter the anteroom that's just before the club. It's a big room with pillars around as we enter, I see another of those suited freaks seeming to bounce before us. Seriously, the guys' hopping around like a rabbit on speed. He looks at us and grins and then leaps up. His feet land on the ceiling and he just hangs there. My jaw drops as I see a couple other guys come from behind pillars, all walking on the ceiling like they're Spider-Man. They're all smiling as they pull out some guns.

"Get to cover," Hottie says. Like I couldn't have figured that out on my own, right?. I dive behind the desk where the coat clerk is and put my hands over my head as I hear gunfire sound out loud. I can hear loud bursts all around and some cries of pain. I spare a quick glance up to see Hottie firing away, one of the freaks falling from the ceiling with big red holes in him. Another burst comes by me and I duck back down. I hear more gunfire, less than before and then some grunts and sounds of blows and a few crashing sounds.

It seems like forever but I know it's only seconds before the sounds die away. I slowly peek my head up and see Hottie coming up to me. "Let's get out of here."

"Don't have to tell me twice!" I say as I leap from behind the desk and race past him, right to the elevator. I hit the button about ten times in two seconds and it still feels way too long before it opens. The doors slide shut as he looks at the row of buttons. "Which one should we push?"

I don't know why the thought flows into my head but suddenly I realize the answer. "None of them." I take out the key and slide it into the hole on the pad. "Come on, magic key, work!" I hiss as I turn it. There's a slight rumble and while it doesn't feel like we're going up or down, it does feel like we're moving somehow.

The doors slide shut and we're there. The hallway. The one I've dreamed about, stretching out before me. "Oh, man," I whisper. "It's real. I thought I imagined it!"

Hottie's looking at the key. "That's pretty handy. You should keep it around."

I shake my head as I grip it. "Uh-huh. I'm done with magic keys." I twist and tug until it snaps off, half in my hand, the other half still in the hole. I toss the other half away as Hottie and I step into the hallway. "No more keys, no more clubs, no more doorways to craziness."

"Actually," he says as he starts to take the lead. "There is one more door I want to show you. "But walking through it is going to have to be your choice."

I try to keep up, wondering what he's talking about, what this freaky hallway is about, just what in hell is going on with all of this. At the moment, there is one more important question on my mind.

"Hey, dude, you got a good car? Cause I'm not riding in any junk heap!"

END.