S
Sigfried Hunin
Red lights pulsed overhead.
The club pounded with heavy electronic music, and the dancefloor writhed to its beat. The walls wept with condensation, the heat and sweat of so many bodies giving the air a palpably muggy texture. Skin pressed against skin, words were swallowed by sound, abandoned inhibitions and reckless desire.
The dark, tight room was filled with the shouts and screams of embattled people, the waves of red from the emergency light the only illumination. Blood and sweat stained the floor, more being added by the moment. The slap of fists and feet on bodies sang out over the din of struggle and suffering, the patter of bare feet on slick concrete only audible to those beneath heels.
A man in white sat at the bar, gently swirling his elaborate cocktail in an even more elaborate glass between his fingers. He flipped his long platinum hair to one side and placed the garnish stick between his lips, stripping the long line of fruit from it and then flicking it to the side. He absent-mindedly smoothed his hand over the fur mantle over his shoulders and couldn’t help but smile at the wild indulgences that the night promised.
A man in black lurked in the corner, behind the shadows in the sweltering basement. He anxiously ran his hand over his tightly shaved hair, removed his glasses, and tucked them into his large, black, wool military coat. He slipped the jacket from his shoulders revealing a tank top and scar-riddled arms, then dropped it into a pile with the rest. His nostrils flared and he flicked his tingling fingers.
He idly clinked his long, intricately painted nails against the glass before tipping the remainder down his throat and discarding it on the bar. He sprang from his stool with a flourish of his hands and strut with hips swaying into the crowd.
His fingers nervously rubbed over the tape wrapped over his fingers, slapped his face a few times and huffed. His eyebrows knit and he let out a primal scream before wading into the mob.
Closing his eyes tight and grinning as he was met by a wall of bodies, each bumping him and pushing him aimlessly through the throng of gyrating humanity. Eventually he stumbled into a person-sized pocket. His arms drifted up in front of him. They began to wave and twist in a hypnotizing fashion, and his body began following after in a mesmerizing, fluid movement.
Thick arms shoved the man as he entered the brawl, and he stumbled and crashed into another combatant. He bounced and tumbled until he skitter-stepped back into balance in the center of the room, already too far from the exit to have any second thoughts. He brought up his fists and squared up, waiting for the first person to swing.
Finally the man in white allowed his eyes to open, and amid the crimson pulses of light, thrashing limbs and bobbing heads, a woman stood in front of him. By chance her eyes met his and he offered a cunning smirk. She returned the smile and moved into the space with him, the two dancing closely, but not quite touching.
Another gangly form slammed into the man, and the two stumbled back and forth before locking eyes. They immediately stepped back and began circling each other, whatever fight he had been in before was now irrelevant. With a bark, the stranger flung a wild haymaker at the man in black.
He peaked his eyebrows and held out a hand as a gentle invitation. Taking it up, she spun into him and the two began twisting together, feeling the thrum of bass in their chests. Thin fingers pressed into the thick fur on his shoulders and she pulled herself into him, the heady scent of her hair filled his nostrils. His fingers clenched reflexively, but he relaxed them and gently draped his arms around her waist.
He shrugged his shoulder and dipped slightly, the massive swing grazing over the top of his shaven head, and simultaneously stepped into a snapping hook to the stranger’s ribs. It didn’t hit hard, but it was enough to force him back and drop his sloppy guard to protect his body. The man black immediately looped both of his hands over his opponent’s neck and drug him into a clinch.
Her head dropped against his chest, and he pressed his hand into her hair, their attempts at dancing slowing into a gentle sway. The song faded from one into the next, and the strangers adjusted themselves to meet the new tempo, intertwined with arms around each other, sweat mingling.
In a panic the fighter began swinging on the man who had wrestled him into the hold. The man in black’s lip split after a harsh uppercut, but the wild attacks found no further purchase. He wrenched down on the strangers neck and knew his knee upward, smashing into his opponent’s jaw with a cringe-inducing clunk.
She lifted her chin and he looked back down at her. For a moment, she could have sworn his eyes reflected back pure silver.
The stranger reeled back, blood slipping down his chin from the socket where a tooth used to be, and in his dizzy haze, he could have sworn the man’s eyes gleamed gold.
She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck.
He slipped the stranger into a headlock.
And pulled him into a kiss.
And pulled him into a choke.
The club pounded with heavy electronic music, and the dancefloor writhed to its beat. The walls wept with condensation, the heat and sweat of so many bodies giving the air a palpably muggy texture. Skin pressed against skin, words were swallowed by sound, abandoned inhibitions and reckless desire.
The dark, tight room was filled with the shouts and screams of embattled people, the waves of red from the emergency light the only illumination. Blood and sweat stained the floor, more being added by the moment. The slap of fists and feet on bodies sang out over the din of struggle and suffering, the patter of bare feet on slick concrete only audible to those beneath heels.
A man in white sat at the bar, gently swirling his elaborate cocktail in an even more elaborate glass between his fingers. He flipped his long platinum hair to one side and placed the garnish stick between his lips, stripping the long line of fruit from it and then flicking it to the side. He absent-mindedly smoothed his hand over the fur mantle over his shoulders and couldn’t help but smile at the wild indulgences that the night promised.
A man in black lurked in the corner, behind the shadows in the sweltering basement. He anxiously ran his hand over his tightly shaved hair, removed his glasses, and tucked them into his large, black, wool military coat. He slipped the jacket from his shoulders revealing a tank top and scar-riddled arms, then dropped it into a pile with the rest. His nostrils flared and he flicked his tingling fingers.
He idly clinked his long, intricately painted nails against the glass before tipping the remainder down his throat and discarding it on the bar. He sprang from his stool with a flourish of his hands and strut with hips swaying into the crowd.
His fingers nervously rubbed over the tape wrapped over his fingers, slapped his face a few times and huffed. His eyebrows knit and he let out a primal scream before wading into the mob.
Closing his eyes tight and grinning as he was met by a wall of bodies, each bumping him and pushing him aimlessly through the throng of gyrating humanity. Eventually he stumbled into a person-sized pocket. His arms drifted up in front of him. They began to wave and twist in a hypnotizing fashion, and his body began following after in a mesmerizing, fluid movement.
Thick arms shoved the man as he entered the brawl, and he stumbled and crashed into another combatant. He bounced and tumbled until he skitter-stepped back into balance in the center of the room, already too far from the exit to have any second thoughts. He brought up his fists and squared up, waiting for the first person to swing.
Finally the man in white allowed his eyes to open, and amid the crimson pulses of light, thrashing limbs and bobbing heads, a woman stood in front of him. By chance her eyes met his and he offered a cunning smirk. She returned the smile and moved into the space with him, the two dancing closely, but not quite touching.
Another gangly form slammed into the man, and the two stumbled back and forth before locking eyes. They immediately stepped back and began circling each other, whatever fight he had been in before was now irrelevant. With a bark, the stranger flung a wild haymaker at the man in black.
He peaked his eyebrows and held out a hand as a gentle invitation. Taking it up, she spun into him and the two began twisting together, feeling the thrum of bass in their chests. Thin fingers pressed into the thick fur on his shoulders and she pulled herself into him, the heady scent of her hair filled his nostrils. His fingers clenched reflexively, but he relaxed them and gently draped his arms around her waist.
He shrugged his shoulder and dipped slightly, the massive swing grazing over the top of his shaven head, and simultaneously stepped into a snapping hook to the stranger’s ribs. It didn’t hit hard, but it was enough to force him back and drop his sloppy guard to protect his body. The man black immediately looped both of his hands over his opponent’s neck and drug him into a clinch.
Her head dropped against his chest, and he pressed his hand into her hair, their attempts at dancing slowing into a gentle sway. The song faded from one into the next, and the strangers adjusted themselves to meet the new tempo, intertwined with arms around each other, sweat mingling.
In a panic the fighter began swinging on the man who had wrestled him into the hold. The man in black’s lip split after a harsh uppercut, but the wild attacks found no further purchase. He wrenched down on the strangers neck and knew his knee upward, smashing into his opponent’s jaw with a cringe-inducing clunk.
She lifted her chin and he looked back down at her. For a moment, she could have sworn his eyes reflected back pure silver.
The stranger reeled back, blood slipping down his chin from the socket where a tooth used to be, and in his dizzy haze, he could have sworn the man’s eyes gleamed gold.
She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck.
He slipped the stranger into a headlock.
And pulled him into a kiss.
And pulled him into a choke.