Blink {Featured}

Chapter Sixteen

SEMILA LEANG, December 2021, 17.24

Semila gently slapped John's cheek a couple of times as Samantha watched, shaking her head. 'Right, that's it for tonight. I'm thirsty.' She looked over at Samantha with a twinkle in her eye. 'Any Pubs nearby?'

Samantha drove and Semila talked about her job and how she would help John come out of the 'locked in syndrome' he seemed to have. The sweet night lights and city streets intoxicated Sem's heightened senses. It was always like this when she got to come here as a human. The first few days were the best, and she had to take advantage of it before the buzz faded into normalcy. 'Here!' she shouted.

Samantha slammed on the breaks. 'Jesus!'

'Where?' said Sem, frowning out the window.

Samantha put her head on the steering wheel. 'No, I meant there was no need to shout like that.'

'Oh. Well,' Semila said and shrugged, 'this one looked nice.' The car's door creaked when she pushed it open and put her feet on solid English pavement for the first time in what, forty years? With a deep intake of breath, she slammed the door and grinned at the flashing sign above the bar. This was going to be amazing!

Semila smoothed her hands down the knee length skirt she'd chosen because it made her legs look more muscular and toned, and adjusted her bra with both hands. White shirts were always good for bars, 'cause if the beer spilled on her top, it'd only look sexier. Her heels tapped on the pavement, and Samantha followed behind her.

The place had a small dark entrance, and there was a dingy, dirty staircase just inside the doorway. Flashes of different colours came from below along with a booming rhythm that vibrated on the stairway's handrail. Oh yes. Semila licked her lips and checked that Samantha was still behind her. The girl looked nervous, terrified even, as if she'd just seen a ghost. Well, someone had to show her the real world, and who better than an angel?

'Come on Sammy,' she said and clopped down the stairs eagerly.

When Semila pushed open the double doors separating her from a night of pleasure and wild fun, a wave of booming sound washed over her and put goose bumps on her arms. The boom boom had her heart racing, her nerves tingling. The lights that strobed over the room looked beyond real. Red, Blue, Orange, Green, Purple, White. For a few seconds she stared up at those lights as if they were manna from heaven and relished the thumping of a human heart in her chest. When she glanced over her shoulder for Samantha, she found her gaping like a terrified monkey at a prostitute who stood smoking a cigarette next to the doorway.

The prostitute had a blank expression and stared Samantha down without even a flinch, tapping ash off her cigarette and taking another drag.

'What?' she said, and Semila realised she was a he with a rather gruff voice. The shock on Sam's slack face was the calm before the storm. The girl was rather naïve.

'Come on,' Semila said grabbing her by the shoulder and pulling her away. Transgender prostitutes were for another day. First a lesson in drinking and dancing.

'Isn't this place perfect,' Semila said, smiling at Samantha.

Samantha shook her head. 'Perfect for what? Getting killed?' A few unsavoury characters stood lurking in doorways. Unruly men slammed bottles of beer and other alcoholic drinks down or kept guzzling at them without a second glance at the ladies. Must've been a major shock for innocent Sammy's system.

'You'll be alright angel, trust me.' Semila smiled and watched her magic working. The girl relaxed a bit. A man right behind Samantha glared at her ass with an avaricious lick of his lips and took a sip of some or other lager, his one squint eye watching the bartender. 'Fuck off,' she growled at him over Sam's head. The man looked away quick and stuffed a hand in his pocket.