The Pale: Volume One by Jacob Long (portable ebook reader txt) 📕

over there and tried to slip in, but everyone was basically pressing against each other in a breathing mass of sweat and mascara. Adam needed in. He didn’t know if the police were still on his trail, but that chaos was the perfect place to get lost. He pushed his way between two of the revelers and started forcing his path to the center.

The tremors from the bass and sheer volume from the speakers became stronger the closer Adam got to the center of the group. He could feel his insides trembling, and even his eyes. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant feeling, but Adam was meeting more and more resistance from the dancers. The head-banging bondage enthusiasts were standing in a mighty cluster like a swarm of spiders, and Adam became frustrated quickly. He outright pushed the next reveler in his way only to meet another that was supported by the weight and enthusiasm of the people on either side. Adam absentmindedly used more and more of his considerable strength to carve a path, shoving people this way and that. The confusion and hysteria was affecting him, and he didn’t realize it.

Someone jostled Adam from behind, and Adam shoved him back in his frustration. The aggression throughout the entire group was escalating. Another person was pushed into Adam, and the aggravated soldier tossed him aside. Everyone was slowly being drawn into the mounting conflict. Men and women were engaging in a sweaty childish shoving match. Adam even saw one person throw a punch that dropped a smaller guy. Someone Adam didn’t see shoved him hard from behind. Adam was knocked off balance and stumbled into a bald man wearing a leather vest. The bald man swung his arm and struck Adam in the ribs with a hard elbow. It cut off Adam’s air as he was shoved, once again, into another direction.

Adam saw other people just as out of control of their lives as he was being fed to different groups of unnecessarily aggressive people as he barreled, wheezing and half-blind, toward a new group of tormentors. They picked Adam from the floor by his arms, only to toss him toward another group. Adam was livid. Whatever was happening there, he did not want to be a part of it, and no one was going to make him. Instead of trying to resist his new direction, he embraced it and enforced it. He regained his footing as best he could and charged toward the next group, collecting all his rage and strength. He crashed blindly into the people, and they were shocked to be bowled over en masse, falling like dominoes.

Adam stood over them, his shoulders and chest heaving with each heavy breath. He scanned the crowd while his eyes blurred with rage. His hot stare dared others to challenge his formidable strength, and those who met this gaze decided immediately that they dared not. Adam’s annoyance was given a chance to dissipate, and he realized that he was attracting far more attention than he intended. The pit was not the place for him.

The people Adam had victimized stared at him in mute awe and fear. Adam avoided this scrutiny and looked around for a place he could just sit. He strode from the dance floor, but then something caught his eye. It was just a shade of color, but one that struck a chord in his memory. Accompanying it was a flood of familiar emotions like comfort, ease, and joviality. Adam’s eyes passed over the color at first, but he quickly found it again. The hue had been dyed into a woman’s hair, but dare he dream?

The woman with the burgundy hair faced away from Adam as she sat at the bar with a man, but Adam recognized even the shape of her body. She was thin, and a little pale, with stray freckles here and there, and Adam knew for certain before she turned. It was his friend, Téa. She turned her head to search the crowd as nothing more than an idle fidget and Adam saw her petite angular profile. His heart fluttered. He hadn’t expected to be brought into such close proximity to someone he was familiar with. All the noisy, rumbling metal dance bars in all the world, and they’d both managed to wander into that one on the same night.

As luck would have it, Adam stood behind her, and she did not scan far enough to see him. He was frozen in place and could not have managed to dive into the nearest crowd and save her from the shock. His every neuron instead urged him to go over and speak with her, though he knew the damage that would cause. What could he say? How could he ever explain? “Hey, Téa, I don’t know if you’ve heard the lecherous rumors the Army is spreading about me getting shot and killed overseas, but I just wanted you to know that I’m totally . . . fine.” Nonsense.

“How are you alive?” she would ask.

“Well . . . start by throwing everything you ever knew about death out the window.” In short order, Adam extended this line of thinking to his mother and Christina as well. His head swam with negative thoughts, and he moved to sit down. He chose an empty booth well behind his friend and plopped into it, running his hand through his hair. He could at least watch over Téa, just for a bit.

It dawned on Adam that it was going to be hard hunting this chupacabra while in Farol Verde. Maybe that was what the Custodian of the Wheel of Fate wanted him to see by sending him there. It was going to be hard getting his old life back or even living to some standard similar. He’d wanted to do better for himself and the people around him, educated as he was by death, but with that wisdom also came the stark realization . . . that he may not be able to go back. It raised an interesting question: Had they even been told that Adam was dead yet? How long was he in the other world, and how fast does news like that travel?

Adam looked up at Téa and the man she was with. Téa wore one of her T-shirts so tight that Adam could make out the lines of her bra in the back. Adam smiled internally. It really showed off what her slight frame didn’t have. No doubt the front advertised the name of some band with a sound too hard for Adam to care for, not unlike the one playing over the club’s monstrous speaker system. Téa’s jeans likewise hugged every meager curve of her body, and her boots were edgy. It seemed Téa would never change. That was good. Adam adored who she was.

Conversely, Adam jeered internally at the man she spoke to. Adam had never seen him before and was instantly suspicious and protective. The man, of some Asian descent, was young. His face still sported some of the acne of adolescence. He dressed like a tool, too, at least Adam’s measure of one. He wore a hat with the bill turned off center, and his denim jacket hung open to reveal some graphic tee Adam couldn’t quite discern. What irked Adam most were the fingerless gloves. Damn, they were stupid. Was the guy trying to look tough? How did Téa even meet this guy? Were they on a date? Maybe, but it didn’t seem so. They were not close enough for any familiarity, and Téa’s body language didn’t convey any physical interest. Maybe they were on a first date and they’d met online or something. Téa had been involved in some chat rooms in her day.

Adam was left to only a burning speculation. He couldn’t hear a word they were saying.

Téa took a sip of her mixed drink through the straw in the glass in front of her. “Why did you want to meet here?” she shouted over the thrum of the music.

Her companion, a man she knew by the name of Davy Truong replied, “No cops! Cops don’t have an easy time in here. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you didn’t like metal.”

Téa shot him a quick indignant look before rolling her eyes. “That’s not true. I love metal! It’s just that we can hardly hear each other talk!”

Davy took a drink and nodded. “That’s another thing! No one can listen in on us! And it’s too crowded for anyone to mess with us.” Davy shrugged. “If you want, you can go back to your doctor. Valium is a lot less expensive with insurance.”

Téa smiled and shook her head. “I tried that,” she said with an edge. “The doctor cut me off. He said I fit the model of drug-seeking behavior.”

Davy laughed raucously at Téa’s story. “Ohhh! No shit!” He laughed so hard that Téa shot him another look but wasn’t able to contain her own little smirk. She had to admit, there was some humor in the irony.

The bartender dropped two shot glasses next to them. To Téa, this was completely unsolicited. She turned to Davy. “What’s this?”

Davy sniffled and tried to control his giggles. “What? You looked like you could use another drink. Don’t worry about it. It’s on me. Here.”

Davy grabbed his glass and held it up in offer of knocking his with hers. Téa hesitated, but she had come to appreciate a nice drink—especially a free one. She snatched up her glass, clinked it with his, offered a quick salute with it, and fired it down like a champ. The liquor burned all the way down, and Téa shuddered. The drink looked like it even threw Davy for a loop, who put on a sour face before shaking the nerves loose. “Whoo!” he exclaimed.

Téa exhaled heavily to try to relieve herself of some of the effervescence.

Davy cleared his throat before another stuttering chuckle. “All right. Hah. So? Do you have the money on you right now?”

Téa nodded, her face communicating that she wasn’t quite done processing the drink’s mighty proof. “Yeah. I came prepared. Do you have the junk on you?”

“Yeah, no worries, no worries. I got what you need. Actually”—Davy reached into a pocket in the lining of his jacket—“I like you. I like to do something for the customers that I like.” From his jacket, Davy proffered one small white pill and held it out for Téa between his thumb and index finger. “Here. One. On me. ’Cause I’d like to be friends.”

Téa couldn’t help but grin widely. A nervous chuckle rattled from her throat, and she wagged her finger at Davy. “Davy! Ahh! You’re gonna get me fucked up!”

The two giggled with each other like old friends.

Téa plucked the pill from Davy’s fingers. “What is it?” she asked.

Davy shook his head. “Valium. Nothing weird. I wouldn’t roll you, baby!”

Téa weighed her options. Her mental faculties hadn’t abandoned her, not by a long shot. She knew any sane woman would not take that pill. It could be anything, but if she couldn’t trust Davy with this, how could she trust anything he gave her? Ohh, and she wanted it too. It would be so easy. Just pop one pill and drift away, no more worries. Besides, Davy was probably just being nice. He seemed sweet. The pill looked normal enough, plain white with three letters etched into one side—TRU. Probably short for Truong. It was actually kind of a catchy brand.

Téa popped the pill into her mouth, swallowing it down. She was sick of weighing the pros and cons and just wanted to give in. She needed that numb release.

Davy grinned widely. “You are awesome,” he said. “I bet everyone just loves to hang out with you.”

Téa scoffed and shook her head. “Nah. I don’t hang out with too many people these days.”

“What? I’d think you’d have tons of friends. You seem like a cool chick.”

Téa shrugged, her eyes trailing away thoughtfully. “Guess I just started losing them somewhere.”

“Maybe you’re just not hanging out with the right people. Huh? You need people that appreciate you.”

As he finished his sentence, Davy noticed some Hispanic guy standing a ways behind Téa. He was staring at her hard. His hair was cut in a fade to look tough, and the shape of his muscles could be seen through the black button-down shirt he was wearing. Between the muscles and the grim look on his face, he cut an imposing figure. He almost looked sad. Davy wondered if he was, like, Téa’s ex-boyfriend or something. Whatever the case, the guy needed to step off.

Téa noticed Davy looking over her shoulder and fidgeted nervously. She checked around, but not behind her. Whatever was happening behind her, Téa’s awkwardness wouldn’t allow her to make a big deal out of it. Besides, she was already starting to feel pretty groovy from whatever Davy had given her.

In time, the Hispanic guy slunk over to a booth off to the side.

Téa shook her head. Her pleasant feeling was quickly plummeting into a murky tranquility and borderline nausea. It felt like her head was filled with cotton balls instead of brains.