by Mitch Goth
By the time the group arrived at the rooftop rave, the party was in full swing. Neon lights provided the majority of the illumination, while the dance floor in the center of the area was abuzz with lasers and disco-esque light displays. Tall tables lined the outskirts of the party, each with its own bright neon underglow.
While the sober ones of the group were quaint with starting the night off at one of the tables, Rain found immense joy in the crowded chaos of the dance floor. Before any of the men could hope to stop her, she disappeared into the hordes and began blending in too well to spot.
The lasers shooting through the sky above her painted a picture miles more vivid than the ones the car lights painted. In seconds the starry canvas of the night sky was brimming with elongated streams of impossibly bright neon, which all conglomerated in the sky creating a never-ending, sky-wide rainbow.
Rain danced for what felt like an eternity, and what an eternity it was. She’d never been a good dancer in any respect, but on this night she felt herself simply going along flawlessly with the bass-filled tunes of the dubstep music that blasted throughout the rooftop. In her mind, she wasn’t so much as dancing as she was going limp and letting the rhythms flail her playfully around. And when the sounds temporarily stopped between songs, Rain found she could continue being carried in a listless dance by the beat of her racing heart alone.
The world around her seemed to move far slower than her. People around her jumping and swinging about in the heat of the night appeared to be performing some kind of modern slow dance. The glowsticks many of them held painted their own neon pictures right before Rain’s eyes. But these bright tapestries, no matter how close they seemed, could not be caught. Whenever a glowstick was swung and a stationary streak of color appeared in front of her eyes, Rain couldn’t stop herself from trying to catch the color, but whenever she got close it slid away from grasp. In time all these streaks would fade into the neon rainbow sky, leaving Rain looking aimlessly for another to chase around as she danced.
It was several hours of nonstop dancing before Rain’s fatigue finally set in. And when it set in, it felled her like a thousand bricks. It happened so fast, with one tired sigh, all her muscles expressed their pain simultaneously. It was all she could do to not collapse during her slow paced walk to the table where Ben and the others were still planted.
“Jesus, where have you been?” Ben wondered at Rain as she sat at the empty seat beside him. He had to yell to be heard over the music.
“Heaven,” Rain replied through deep breaths, “a very colorful heaven.”
“So the pill is a success, huh?” Dando chuckled.
“You’re Goddamn right it is,” Rain nodded.
“Vin will be thrilled,” Ben smiled.
“Why aren’t you guys dancing?” Rain inquired. “Its too much fun out there!”
“We’re keeping our eyes open,” Joe answered seriously.
“For what?” Rain looked around in a newly built paranoia, not seeing anything out of place.
Joe didn’t reply, he only pointed across the roof. Rain turned to look to where he was pointing and instantly saw what she’d overlooked before. Two bulky men sat at a table at the far corner of the roof, their identical leather jackets spoke of a clear gang affiliation.
“What’s up their asses?” Rain asked callously.
“They’re rivals of ours,” Ben explained. “Their operation is small, but they’re known for their violence.”
“They’re violent?” Rain took a swift second look at the men before turning back to the conversation.
“Very,” Dando nodded.
Rain paused for a moment before bursting into uproarious laughter. She couldn’t even tell why, and at this point she was aware it was inappropriate for the conversation, but she still found herself lacking concern. She laughed so hard she nearly doubled over in her seat. It was loud enough to be clearly heard over the pounding music.
“How is that funny?” Joe wondered, perplexed by her response.
“That drug must be crazy,” Ben shook his head, reaching into his pocket. “Here, look at these,” he pulled his crowded key ring out of his pocket and handed it to Rain, who immediately ceased her laughter and stared hard at the keys.
The reflective metal of the keys showed off heavily distorted versions of the lasers and disco lights. As she shifted the keys around she caught a constantly changing perspective of the lights, and every time she shifted the keys back the reflection seemed unrecognizable from before. It was a tiny but endless screen of lasers and bright color clad dancers.
All it took was one fumble of the keys and a new sensation arrived that needed further observation. The metallic clink the keys made against each other startled and somehow delighted Rain at the same time. She shook the keys in her hand and the symphony of sharp metallic sounds surprised her even more and brought a subtle smile to her face. There was no sense to be entertained by the keys, she knew that, but once again Rain showed no care for the senselessness and went on with the mesmerizing adventure the key ring took her on.
“Good decision, Ben,” Dando complimented, seeing the unbreakable trance the keys had put Rain into. “She’ll be occupied for a while I bet.”
“I figured it'd do good,” Ben laughed, watching her mess with the keys.
“How long you think it’ll be? An hour? Two?” Dando inquired.
“Shit, might just be three,” Ben joked, although that number seemed very possible at this point.
“Whatever it is, we’re not gonna find out,” Joe entered the conversation, although he didn’t acknowledge either of them. His eyes stayed fixed on the table across the roof.
“Those dudes freakin’ you out, Joe?” Dando peered over to the table.
“They should be freakin’ you out too,” Joe replied.
“They eyein’ us?” Dando looked a little harder across the crowded rave. “Doesn’t look like it.”
“Trust me, they were just a minute ago,” Joe explained. “I think we ought to get outta dodge while we still can.”
“The party’s still going, don’t worry so much,” Ben dismissed.
“I don’t know, man,” Dando said worriedly, “they’re mutterin’ and shit. I’m with Joe; there’ll be other raves on other nights. I don’t wanna get shot tonight.”
Finally finding enough interest to look across the party for himself, Ben was visibly surprised by what he saw. The two men were talking to each other, almost whispering. There was a secret to be had between them. Then Ben felt a gaze hit him for an instant before darting away again. The men were eyeing them for sure.
“Shit,” Ben groaned, now just as nervous as the other two, “let’s get outta here.”
“Finally,” Joe hopped off his chair, “get the girl’s attention,” he instructed before he tapped Dando and they both headed off into the crowd.
“Rain,” Ben grabbed her shoulder and her head rocketed up and away from the keys in her hands, “we gotta go.”
“Why? Those guys?” Rain wondered. She had no idea how she knew that, but somehow she was sure that was the reason.
“Yeah, come on,” Ben gestured her quickly off the chair and in no time they were power walking through the mass of dancers, weaving through all of them with the utmost precision.
Rain looked back at the table across the party right before they disappeared through the exit. She wasn’t sure it was the right table, but it was empty. The two men were nowhere to be seen.
10
