I'll Be Here All Life | ✓ | ONC 2021

[9] Joining the Zombie Mosh Pit

Abby and I arrive at the speakeasy not long after our encounter with Kalki. I quickly message both Neil and Fred the address and pocket my phone, following Abby down a long hallway of mirrors. At the end of the hallway, you can turn two ways: to the left, where there is a chained black door, or to the right, where it almost looks like another part of the mirrored tunnel, save for the gold doorknob. She reaches for it and turns it to the right; the door opens once she pushes against it. As we enter, we take in the sights.

The music is some sort of electronic punk, and the whole speakeasy is encased in darkness, save for the blacklights on the high-vaulted ceiling—oh, and the ten-shelves-high drink selection behind the bar.

My eyes take a millisecond to adjust—much quicker than it would if I was still human, I noted—and I follow Abby to the bar. There are not many people here, but it is only 8:30 pm: there is still time.

Once Abby reaches the counter, she leans onto it. "Heyyyy Luis!"

I grumble. "How is it you know everyone?"

She smirks. "When you've been alive as long as I've had..."

Chuckling, I shake my head as Luis makes his way over. He looks quite dapper, dressed in a white-collared shirt, tucked into pinstripe pants. "Abigail, lovely," he says. "How have you been?"

"Apart from almost getting killed by a vampire hunter, I'm just chipper," she says brightly.

I groan. "Abby, please don't tell everyone..." Then my eyes meet Luis's. "Hey, I'm Vick."

He nods. "Luis. Nice to meet you, and welcome to the Habitat!"

"The Habitat, huh..." Sounds like one of those elite college houses that same-majors people lived in. Unfortunately, I never qualified for one of those. Still, I smile at Luis. "Can I get a gin and tonic, please? Splash of blood if possible?"

"Just for you, my new friend," he says before turning his back to grab a gin bottle.

"Heyyyy!" Abby whines. "Blood in my regular too!"

I sigh. Time to relax.

***

Abby and I are a drink and a half in before Neil shows up. He walks in, donning a dark-colored trenchcoat. I wave him over, a bit more sloppily than I'd like, and he makes his way over. "Hi," he says. "I couldn't find a place to park my broom."

"You ride a broomstick?" Abby says. "That's like old witchcraft though."

He snorts. "I'm kidding. No one rides brooms anymore... so you must be Vick's fellow vampire friend Abby."

She holds out a hand, her red nail polish offset against our dark surroundings. "Nice to finally meet you, Neil. Take a seat." Our table is in an alcove not so far away from the bar, where Luis is slinging together more drinks for more magical creatures and humans alike. He says he gets off at 9:30 pm and may join us after that.

Neil slides into the benched seat, cozying up next to me. I resist the urge to bite my lip. This is the first time we've been together since I stayed over at his place the other night. What if that was just a one-time thing? A fluke? "So," he says, breaking the silence, "you did an amazing thing today. You saw your parents."

"I did." I swirl my tiny drink straw around. The blood dissipates into the rest of the drink's contents even more, making it appear a darker red. "It felt so good. I feel like I made a huge mistake before, not reaching out to them after I was turned—"