Pitch Episode 30: Black Sky
#36 of Pitch
It wasn't the kind of party I expected. There were so many older people. I should have known what I was walking into the moment I had to put on a tux. I guess I was more optimistic than usual.
It was the Mayor's birthday, not a bonfire.
The party was held on the rooftop of a corporate building. I hadn't been to that part of town in a while. I didn't have a reason to travel so far, especially since BJ didn't want me to visit her. A 10 story building might have been typical in other cities, but for Daybreak, it was an outlier. I wasn't familiar with many skyscrapers.
There was a band playing elevator music, servers carrying free food, and a photographer snapping pictures at all the wrong moments. In the words of a wise man, it could have been better, could have been worse. Regardless, being an escort was easy enough. Though, it might have been Haru who made my job simple. After traveling from the hotel to the venue, I learned that she had a unique condition.
As I said, Huli jings were spirits.
They weren't the kind that died and became a ghost. They were born as incorporeal things. They couldn't be seen or heard by humans. In most cases, humans couldn't interact with Huli jing at all unless they allowed it. Creatures could see them just fine, which is why Haru needed an escort.
I had to act as her voice. That should have made my night somewhat of a challenge, but she was the type of person to watch and listen more than she spoke. I didn't understand why anyone would want to attend a party full of people who couldn't see them. I was free to chow down on the finger food while Haru wandered around eavesdropping on people's conversations, so I didn't complain.
I was in the middle of chasing down a platter of what looked like tiny tacos when I noticed a group of people come up the stairs to the party. It was late for new arrivals, so I'm sure everyone noticed them.
It was Danger and Beth.
We shared several tense glances as they stepped further onto the scene. I hadn't seen Beth in forever. Im not sure if I was embarrassed or ashamed to see her again after the way I left things. She didn't try to come over to speak to me, and that might have been a kindness. Beth went on her way into the crowd, but Danger approached me as I scarfed down the remainder of whatever food was in my mouth.
"What are you doing here," I said before he finished closing the space between us.
"I told you Beth and I were going out tonight," Danger explained.
He had on a tuxedo that matched mine, but his must have been dry cleaned because it looked better on him.
"But why here," I argued.
"The mayor wanted a show," he said.
"Beth doesn't do performance magic."
"All magic is performance magic if you know what you're doing," he retorted.
"Right," I said sarcastically.
We were drawing attention. I'm sure we must have looked like yin and yang.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
I hadn't told Danger about The Ring, and as far as I knew, he didn't know about it either. Regardless of how much we shared, he wasn't me. It wouldn't have been safe to tell him anything.
"I got a job."
"Doing what?"
"I'm an escort," I said.
"You're a male escort?"
"It's not like that," I backtracked.
"Sure. Well, Beth and I have to set up. I guess I'll see you after the show," he said.
He left me, and for a moment or two, I was heated. We didn't have a hard reason to be at odds, but I couldn't stand Danger. He was in my room, he had my old job, and regardless of the black fur, he had my face. What made it worse was his act. One moment he'd go on and on about being tortured and kidnapped, but the next, he'd say he was better off alone. He was too humble and at ease. I knew myself too well to buy it. If I'd been kidnapped and held against my will for over a year, I would have fought to take back my life when I finally got free. Danger seemed ready to give up on everything. He was willing to let me keep my life without any real fight. It didn't add up. It was suspicious and irritating.
While my guard was down, or more accurately, my attention was on Danger, I was unaware of a certain someone sneaking up behind me.
"We are leaving," Haru said behind my ear.
"What!?" I exclaimed as I nearly jumped out of my skin.
To everyone else, it appeared I was scared by the wind.
"We are leaving," she repeated.
"But the party?" I said.
Mayor Paul hadn't even cut his cake yet. Haru had already turned to take her leave while I processed the sudden shift. It's not like I wanted to stick around anywhere Danger was, but it was odd. I looked over and past the crowd of people to watch as he and Beth set up their act. On an elevated stage, everyone was watching them. As if he sensed me, Danger looked up, and we locked eyes. That's all it took for me to follow after Haru.
So The Ring had an app. That's how I got the call from Haru about the escort job, but it was capable of more than texts and calls. Full members of The Ring could use the app to find each other on a global scale. They could use it to access the entire registry of members. Species of creatures, ages, locations, and affiliations were all available. At the click of a button, anyone could know everything about every member of The Ring. I didn't have access to all of that yet. As a new member, I was allowed to know about the advanced features, but I wouldn't be able to use them until my probationary period was over.
There was an important feature I was aware of. Job requests were sent through the app, and reviews of work were posted there too. Reviews had to be posted after the completion of every job request. Simply put, my job wasn't complete until Haru wrote a review and declared everything was done. If I left before she said the job was finished, she could have said I skipped out completely. The night was already old, but for the sake of being a good escort, I continued to accompany Haru around town.
Empty streets were like caverns, and street lights were torches. As we went on our way, the wind was our company, pushing us forward. Haru seemed to ride the night air taking levitated steps. I was waiting for her to say she'd seen enough.
"Such a lovely place," she said.
"Yea, Daybreak is real cozy," I answered.
If I had turned my head to the side, I could have still seen Mayor Paul's birthday in the distance, but then we turned a corner.
She was gone.
Haru was in front of me one moment and gone the next. I turned around in circles searching for her, but the wind was all that I found. Standing there, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was still present. I could feel myself being watched. I could hear her soft voice in the night's howl. But I couldn't see her.
"Haru," I called out as I stood under the glow of a lone street light.
The light was so bright, but I couldn't see past it. The street was like a forest.
"Haru," I called out again.
No answer was given to my voice.
"Fuck," I said to myself.
I pulled out my cellphone as I took steps into the darkness. My screen, though it was pointed at my face, acted as a flashlight while I walked. I checked The Ring app to see if Haru would answer a text or call, but she didn't.
I lived in Daybreak for so long, but that part of town was still unfamiliar. My pride kept me from using my phone's navigation. I'm sure I was lost. Most of the town was low enough to see over the tops of buildings and find landmarks. Wherever I was, the buildings were too high, and the streets were too narrow. It was like a maze. There were parked cars and the occasional passerby that kept me from having fear at the moment, but there was growing tension.
As I cut down a street, I realized something was wrong. Daybreak didn't have that many blocks of skyscrapers. Daybreak didn't have a block of skyscrapers. Daybreak didn't have long, endless streets with convoluted turns. There should have been more brick buildings, trees, and easy access to the neighboring neighborhoods. I was standing in a grimy, dark, claustrophobic alleyway.
I wasn't in Daybreak anymore.
At first, I thought maybe Scribe was responsible. Ever since Danger showed up, I had been waiting for the paper monster to come for one of us. But it didn't feel like something Scribe would do. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anyone else with the power to teleport another person against their will. I feared for Haru. If she got swept up into another of my unplanned adventures, there was no telling what might have happened to her.
But just then, as I thought and feared, I found the white fox. At the end of the alleyway, she sat looking down the corridor.
"Haru?" I called out as I approached her.
She didn't move. Her eyes were fixed on me. It wasn't until I got within arm's length that she showed her fangs. She nearly ripped my arm off. I was knocked back by her attack, but still standing.
"Haru, are you ok?" I asked and pleaded as I backed away.
She wouldn't answer. She started creeping in closer. Her mouth was salivating, and I knew what was up. She lunged at me, and I ducked away. Before I could stand, I found her fangs sinking into my shoulder. I had to hit her over the head at least a dozen times to make her let me go.
I ran away.