Compile:Quest

Chapter 1: Mash-Tech

Club_0, Lower Northbridge,

Africa Dome

Peppermint danced. Hands flung over her head, eyes shut, she danced. Her hips gyrated in time to the pulsating rhythm of the mash-tech track blaring through her earbuds. Rocking her shoulders, she granted the music full control of her body and abandoned her limbs to its every wanton demand.

Fingers grasped her wrist. Peppermint jerked, her eyes flashing open. She smiled as she focused on Nick. He grinned back and slid against her. They settled into a new rhythm, their hips grinding together with the quickening tempo. Her eyes locked on his and she matched him move for move, their pace accelerating as the track soared. 

The break came. Peppermint evaporated. The hands on her hips were only things keeping her atoms from scattering into oblivion. Nick gripped both her wrists and tugged at her and tapped her earlobe, lifting his eyebrows. Her feet relented and came to a rest. 

Peppermint's thumb slid across the tips of her index fingers. Her broad Cerberus ring reflected a red strobe light as she lowered the volume in her earbuds. 

Her ears were ringing. "What?" she said, too loudly. 

"Maple's in the bass room," Nick replied. 

His voice was deep and melodic in the sudden silence. He cocked his head, sliding his fingers between hers and tugging at her hand until she followed. 

"But I like it here," Peppermint's words muffled as her teeth clenched. 

Nick stopped and turned back to her. "She wants you there, P." She shivered as his hand brushed her bare arm. "Come."

Multi-coloured strobe lights speared the room and illuminated the billows of smoke pouring from the ceiling — mint flavoured, tonight. Club Zero pumped, its massive main dance floor packed with hundreds of denizens. Their bodies jerked in time to an inaudible beat as they travelled through the rainbow fog. Shuffling feet and laboured breathing were the only sounds in the room. 

Nick's finger traced her collarbone. "Still peaking?"

She convulsed at his touch and his lips lifted in a small, satisfied smile. 

He shook his head at her, his smile turning fond. "Looks like it to me." 

It must have been hours since her dose of jOy had kicked in. The peak usually lasted an hour or two, but she was still definitely in danger of leaving the planet. 

Peppermint touched her thumb to the tip of her index finger and peered at the hologram that appeared beside Nick. Her eyes shuddered as she attempted to focus on the glowing pink icons of the weConnect program console. Half past two. She'd been dancing for three hours.

"Let's go." She upped her volume just enough to hear the current mash-tech track. Her head started to bob. 

Nick's fingers tightened around hers and he led her through the shifting crowd. The people parted around him. He was a mesobuild denizen — rangy with wide shoulders and a slim waist. Peppermint clutched his hand for fear of being separated. 

Unlike him, Phoenix had decided she should be an ectobuild. She came to Nick's chest, and had slender limbs. Where denizens rebounded from him they crashed into her, tossing her around until her head spun.

A dark rectangle emerged from the chaotic tangle of dancing bodies. Vibrations thrilled into her feet as they approached. They descended a ramp, each step taking them deeper into a pulsing bass. Even here, the music was just in her earbuds. She winced as it switched from mash-tech to thrash-dub.