Beyond the Border | ✔

4 | rule 08

RULE 08: DON'T SYMPATHIZE WITH THE BEASTS. ANY SYMPATHIZERS WILL BE PUNISHED TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW 

✷  C  H  A  P  T  E  R      F  O  U  R  ✷

Midnight Mercury was packed, and, with the dim lighting, I felt unsettled knowing that I could be mingling among beasts.

On our way here, we crammed ourselves into a car. Memphis seemed unbothered by the use of these foreign technologies, but I was hypnotized by it. Not only did the car get us to Midnight Mercury so fast, but it also had air conditioning.

The Outside was not shaping up to be too bad.

I was so mesmerized by the car itself that I spent no time looking out the windows at the scenery. Having only read a handful of books, I knew the future was riddled with things I could only imagine, but experiencing it was exhilarating.

A bright light flashed into my eyes, causing pressure to mount in my head. While experiencing new adventures was more exciting than I ever could have imagined, it was also extremely overwhelming.

As we walked closer to the bar, my eyes landed on a wall-mounted screen. On the screen, it displayed images of beautiful people smiling and drinking — realistic paintings. I tilted my head, feeling as if I was drunk — or what I imagined drunk feeling like — before I had even tasted any alcohol.

Natasha came up behind me, "TV. One of the wonders of the modern world. I don't know how you survive without it."

She patted me on the back, as she passed by so she could order us some drinks at the bar. My heart stilled at the sight of the bartender, fangs elongated from his mouth.

A vampire.

Looking around frantically for an exit, I wanted to plan my way out in case something went wrong. Not that I'd have any place to run to.

"They're fake," Memphis came up behind me, "he's human."

I turned to Memphis, whose body was naturally swaying with the music. "How do you know?"

He laughed, probably amused by my naivety. He motioned for me to look around and take a closer glance.

I did and was shocked to see other people dressed up as fairies, warlocks, and werewolves. I froze, thinking this was a bad idea, but I willed myself to take an even closer look.

Relief instantly flooded me as I saw the "fairy" had wings that were strapped on. The warlocks wand looked real from afar, but when he titled it over to pour its content into a cup, I knew that it was another rouse. It was fake. They were all fake, and I almost collapsed in relief. In response, I playfully hit Memphis on his shoulder.

"A little warning would have been nice," I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.

"And miss you nearly have a heart attack? No way," he smirked, guiding Si, Gracie, and me to the bar.

"Ah there you are," Natasha looked up from the cell phone she was holding, drinks already on the countertop for us. She laughed to herself before saying, "I'm guessing by the looks on your faces that my nitwit cousin didn't tell you this is a Supernatural themed bar? Anyway, I got us all a shot of Vampire Blood — don't worry that's just the name."

She passed out the red-colored shots to us all. Once everyone had one in their hands, we all downed the shots. The alcohol instantly burned my throat, and I almost spit it out, my body rejecting the putrid liquid. My face scrunched up, and I hoped that not all the drinks we would consume tonight would taste like that.