BABYLON //a.f.i//

• S O M E T H I N G B A D •

•••Cora•••
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"That's the point."

Silently, the three of us exited the car. My feet hit the cool, rough pavement, sending a shiver through my spine. I wrapped my arms around myself, the jacket doing little to help at this point. As I analyzed my surroundings, it came as a surprise to me that there was essentially nothing around us. There was the parking lot, the few street lamps, and the soft glow of neon surrounding us in the distance. It wasn't as harsh when I looked at it from a distance; I could almost mistake it for beautiful.

"I don't understand, where are we? There's nothing here." I glanced at Ashton and Luke as they stood looking out into the bleak darkness, the light from the street lamp barely illuminating our position.

"It's not about what you see, Cora. It's about what you don't see." Ashton turned to me, and in a surprising gesture, outstretched his hand.

I was stunned for a second, but slowly reached out to take his hand in mine. He wrapped his hand around mine, and immediately I felt warmth. And for a moment, we met each other's eyes, a split second of unity. A split second that almost felt like eternity, only a moment too short. I broke the contact though, looking down at the ground as Ashton guided me up next to him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, still facing the ground.

"He means this city doesn't stop at the horizon." Luke answered this time as both he and Ashton stride briskly ahead into the darkness. I let go to Ashton's hand as I took a second wrap my arms around myself, a vain attempt at warming myself.

"Does anyone want to stop speaking in riddles and just tell me where we're going?" I asked a little impatiently. My feet dancing on the cool dilapidated pavement of the parking lot. The light fabric of the pajama pants just barely grazed the ground.

"Here." Ashton said, and I looked up to see what looked to be a tiny maintenance shack which had emerged from the darkness from behind one of the other street lights.

"We're meeting you ex business partner who possibly has something to do with the disappearance of your friend in a shack in the middle of a closed down parking lot?" I did my best to hide how unimpressed I was; I don't think I did very well.

Both Ashton and Luke chuckled, as if they were laughing at a joke only both of them understood.

"Perception truly is a beautiful thing." Ashton smirked before reaching out to the door of the metal shed, unbolting it, and pulling it open.

Immediately a the ghoulish purple glow of black light illuminated the area in which we stood. I widened my eyes; it almost resembled a portal of some sort. I unintentionally reached out my hand as if the light were something tangible I could touch.

"Welcome to the part of the city you don't see, Cora." Ashton walked into the light, Luke following close behind. And together they were swallowed by the luminous essence. Finally, I stepped through the door, entering the light myself.

I was surprised to find a staircase heading downwards. Black lights lining both the walls and the bases of each stair. The light danced on my skin and played tricks with the shadows in my eyes as I slowly walked down the staircase. Getting father down, the faint sound of music could be heard, almost as if it were pulsating from the walls.

Finally I reached the end of the staircase, where Ashton and Luke were already waiting for me. In front of us sat a second metal door, much like the one at the entrance. It was from being this door, I realized, that the music was coming from. I felt the energy in the air, and my blood began to buzz with excitement. The unknown had this affect on me.