"To Never Be" - 7 Black Cats

       The large man at the door welcomed us in, explaining that there is no cover charge on open mic nights. As we walked in, I noticed the bar was about half full of college students dressed in a mix of trendy and casual clothing. The building itself was deep and narrow, filled with oblong lounge furniture, and had doors hanging from the arched ceilings. A staircase hinted to another room above, but the three of us took our seats in a few rickety chairs near the stage.

       “So what are we doing here?” Nicene asked sounding slightly annoyed.

       “You wanted to see what I see. Well, this place will do nicely.” Stephanie looked me in the eyes, got out of her seat, and hesitated. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

       “Will it help?” I asked.

       “I don’t know.” She said sadly.

       “Then I will try.”

       She looked at me, not changing the expression on her face, leaned down over my chair and kissed me on the lips. I was so shocked, I didn’t know quite what to do, but out of the corner of my eye it seemed Nicene was even more shocked than me. After what I guess to be five or six seconds, she broke the kiss, and looked into my eyes.

       “Sorry.”

       “No, it’s just that,” I stopped for a second, just to look over at Nicene and then continued. “I don’t think either of us were expecting that.”

       “Sorry. I couldn’t think of a better way to do it. Intimacy is one of the easiest ways to transfer energy.”

       I looked at her puzzled for a moment, and then looked to Nicene who was nodding her head yes. If she says it’s true, then I generally trust it to be so.

       I looked back up towards Stephanie, who had moved to my side now.

       “Look out into the room.” She commanded.

       I did as she said, surveying the room, which looked to be much brighter than before. Everyone had a small glow to them, which was adding together to make a very bright light source. That’s when I noticed the room seemed much more crowded now than before. There were figures standing in the shadows, hard to make out, as they seemed to draw the darkness in around them. Dark blurry spots hovering around men’s heads, odd looking women whispering in their ears, and large beetle shaped creatures attached to the back of some people’s necks.

       “What are they?” I sputtered.

       As if reading from a book Stephanie said, “They are the things you can normally only see from the corner of your eye. The common term would be demons, but a much more blunt term would be darkness or shadows.”

       “Why aren’t they glowing?” I asked, pointing to a group in the opposite corner.

       “What are you two talking about?” Blurted out Nicene.

       Very calmly Stephanie answered, “They do not have light in their souls, only darkness.”

       “Stop! Now, what are you two talking about?” Nicene said, sounding quite irritated.

       “I can show you.” Answered Stephanie.

       “Does that mean you would have to kiss me?” Asked Nicene, in a much quieter voice than her previous sentence had been.

       “Yes.”

       “No thanks then.” Said Nicene. Then she looked straight into Stephanie’s eyes and said, “I’ll just take what ever you tell me to be true, Tobias.”

       I didn’t answer Nicene; instead I just sat in my chair, staring at her.

       “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Asked Stephanie.

       “Why is Nicene so bright in comparison to everyone else in here?”

       “It’s how I knew about her in the car. She is closely linked with the world. So close in fact, the edge sometimes blurs so that she can see and feel things others would not be able to experience.”

       Stephanie took her seat, and the three of us sat in silence. I kept scanning the room, checking the new creatures, half scared and half exhilarated. Nicene just sat, looking slightly scared of the two of us. Stephanie was enjoying watching me, she seemed quite amused with my astonishment.

       I cleared my throat, looked back at Stephanie and said, “A lot of the darker beings seem to be keeping there eyes on us.”

       The look of amusement on her face quickly vanished, and in a rushed manner she said, “That often happens when someone like Nicene walks into a room. She tends to make them paranoid, but don’t worry, they will keep their distance from her.”

       “What is she?” I asked Stephanie, directing her gaze towards a glowing young woman in the corner.

       “Actually Tobias, I was hoping you would tell me. She has been following you around all night.”