Mason summoned courage and inspected his enemies. As he opened the cowl covering one of the monsters' heads, what he saw made him stagger back in fright.
It looked like the creature he saw in the mirror two days prior–snake's head, brown scale-like skin, wide mouth, and jagged, sharp teeth.
The air around the creatures was thick with the awful stench of rotten egg and decayed flesh. Mason smelled none of such when he had been attacked earlier, perhaps he was too busy trying to escape to notice.
But now, as he took slow steps toward the creatures, he couldn't help but wonder if that was all, or if these two were just the beginning. However, somewhere at the back of his mind was a lingering question–how was that bat-like creature able to see them?
Though Mike's eyes looked almost like this creature's, he was more menacing and scarier. What the hell is going on? Mason wondered. The world he knew was shifting into something else in front of his very eyes!
"You okay over there?"
Mason glanced and saw two ladies approaching him, their phone lights raised above their heads to illuminate their surroundings. Mason flipped his eyes to the ground to see the body, but all he could see was dark smoke swirling into the air and vanishing.
"Are you alright?" one of the girls asked again, and Mason frantically nodded, breathing heavily as he staggered back in fright.
The girls approached him and cast their phone light at him, illuminating his shocked expression. "Oh my God! You're so handsome!" they gasped. "You're bleeding too!"
One of the girls, a blonde, slender lady, opened her bag and brought out a handkerchief. She moved toward Mason, but he stepped back.
"Come on, I'm not strong enough to fight with you," she said and approached Mason. She wiped the blood that flowed down the side of his head and smiled at him.
"Were you kicked out of the party?" the second girl asked.
"What… what par–" Mason stammered.
"Are the guards insane!?" the blonde girl groaned. "How dare they stop you from entering!?"
Entering where? What party? Mason thought. Is this another hunt? Are these girls sent to get rid of me?
"I'm sorry, but I have to leave," Mason said, and he turned to leave, but the girls intercepted.
"Don't be such a dick, come on," the blonde girl said. She grabbed Mason's hand and started pulling him in the opposite direction. Mason wanted to yank off his hand, but decided against it.
The girls seemed to be harmless, and the way they dressed suggested either they're coming or going to somewhere grand, perhaps the party they spoke of just now.
Suddenly, the girls stopped in front of a large waste bin. They hadn't walked more than two meters or so, which made Mason wonder if the girls were up to no good.
Their eyes darted around the alley before one of them shifted the waste bin to the side. Its four tires allowed it to be effortlessly pushed, and on the wall where the waste bin once was, appeared a mural of a half-nude man and woman interlocked in a rhythmic dance.
One of the girls turned around, watching out, while the other pressed one of the tits on the woman's painting. Waited. Then a soft click came. The wall behind the painting began to tilt inwardly, revealing a three-foot door and a short staircase beyond.
"It's open, let's go," the blonde girl signalled to her friend watching out, before pulling Mason along. They both bent as they stepped onto the staircase. The room beyond was dim, spacious, and empty, lit by a soft glow of a red bulb.
There was nothing in this room except a door and a closet; the color of the wall was distorted by the glow of the bulb above.
"Let's move!" The second girl said as she jammed shut the door they'd taken in, followed by a soft sound beyond the door–probably the wastebin gliding back to its previous position.
The second girl walked past Mason, and instead of going for the door, she approached the closet. She opened it and pushed, and she disappeared beyond.
Another hidden door!? Mason exclaimed within himself as he followed the blonde girl, who was now making her way inside. They found themselves on a long corridor, its end disappearing into the dark distance. In front of them lay another door, flanked by two muscular men.
Seeing them, the men stepped forward, their ever-hard eyes darting between the trio. "Say the password!" one of them demanded, his tiny voice a stark contrast to his physique.
"Do you still need a password from the boss?" the second girl sneered.
"Face surgeries are trending one of these days," the other guard replied, his voice thick and authoritative.
"Why do I need a password when getting here itself is so difficult?" the blonde girl said, earning herself a grin from the guards.
"Welcome, Mistress," said the guards almost simultaneously.
Wait a minute, that's the password!? Mason wondered. This is crazy, what the hell is this place by way?
And as if answering to his thoughts, one of the guards opened the door and gestured to them to enter. As the door swung open, they were attacked by a loud sound of music and smoke.
It's a club! And the blonde is the boss?
Mason was pulled by the blonde inside. From within the dancing throng emerged a man. When he approached, he bowed and gestured to them to follow him.
"Let's go have fun, darling," the blonde said and winked lasciviously at Mason. She, as before, held his hand and pulled him along as they followed the man up a staircase ahead.
As Mason ascended the staircase, he cast another glance at the dancefloor below. The atmosphere was disrupted by different colors of light. Approximately 100 or more people were in this room. While some were dancing, some simply sat down with their lovers on the couches at the back corner of the room, where a bar was located.
"Where are we going?" Mason, who couldn't keep his curiosity in check, asked absently. "The party is going on downstairs."
"That place is for ordinary people," the blonde girl's friend replied. Mason turned to meet her gaze, and he saw her beaming with a smile. "We're going to where the VIP flexes."
The blonde turned back and winked again at Mason, her hand still firmly gripping his hand as though he would run away if she left him. "Do you know what Joy is?" she asked, licking her lips.
"Stop asking nonsense, Mirabelle," the other girl said. "Who wouldn't know what Joy is?"
But I don't know what Joy you guys are talking about, Mason grumbled within himself.
"I suppose you're right," the blonde girl, now known as Miribelle, said and rolled her eyes. "It's worth killing for." She turned to Mason and smiled lustfully. "You're going to have the best Joy tonight, cutie," she purred.
Mason paid no attention to her, he glanced over to the dancefloor before taking the last step onto the second floor. At one corner, beside the railings, stood the DJ, his hand playing on his instruments as he nodded his head to the rhythm of the music.
There was a large door to their immediate left, guarded by two men in black. At the sight of Mirabelle, they bowed and opened the door. The blonde tilted her head, and Mason, knowing she was going to either smile or wink at him, quickly looked away.
Undeterred, Mirabelle pulled him as she entered the now open door. The room beyond the door was filled with about 15 people, sitting around a large table and sniffing something like flour scattered on it.
'Drug!' Mason whispered. 'I think I just got myself into trouble.' Going back now was no longer an option; Mirabelle would definitely never let him be. And considering the amount of guards in this building, Mason stood no chance against even one of them.
Mirabelle led him to another door at the back of the room, not too far from the large round table.
Doors, doors, doors! So many doors!
Mason grumbled within himself, but his expression remained neutral. The room beyond this door was more like an office, with sofa chairs forming a semicircle around a glass table. Unlike the two rooms they'd passed earlier, this one was quiet and cool.
Mirabelle turned back and saw her friend being repelled. "I want to be alone with him, Deborah, we shall see later," she said and winked at her.
"This is unfair, Mirabelle!" Deborah grumbled as she was whisked off. "I'll make you pay, bitch!"
Mirabelle chuckled and motioned to Mason to sit on one of the couches, as she went toward the fridge in one corner of the room. She brought back two bottles and two cups.
"I haven't had the chance to know your name, handsome," Mirabelle said as she sat in front of him, licking her lips. "Grant me the knowledge of your name, dear."
So she's flirting with me now? Mason almost snickered. "I'm Mason, nice to meet you, Mirabelle," he replied and crossed his legs.
"I haven't seen any man as cute as you," Mirabelle continued, her cheeks flushed as she blushed.
Well… that's true, Mason knew it. He also has never come across anyone as cute as him ever since his transformation. He stared at Mirabelle as she opened a bottle and filled one of the cups in front of her. She handed over the cup to him and let loose a lustful smile.
"That's Joy, it will bring out the joy in you," she explained. She opened the second bottle and poured the contents into the second cup. She took a sip and moaned in satisfaction.
The contents in both cups looked exactly the same–red in color and almost thick.
"Why am I served something different from yours?" Mason said.
"As I said earlier, that is Joy," she said, pointing to the cup in Mason's hand. "It's something worth killing for." She smiled. "And as for me… I've had more than enough today. You wouldn't want to spend tonight with a girl who's completely out of her mind." She gestured to her temple.
So, it's me you want to be out of his mind!? Mason screamed inwardly, yet maintained a normal smiling expression. Mirabelle took another sip from her cup and motioned for Mason to bottom up.
"And what if I say No to this?"
Mirabelle smiled. Her eyes darted toward her guard standing a few feet away from them, but she said nothing. However, her eyes said it all–it would be forced down his throat since he now knew their secrets.
No was no longer an option, and Mason knew he had to act fast, or this bitch was going to drug him with whatever she mixed with the drink to call it Joy!