Within The Heart Of Time: Part I - Unknowing

By Setlu Vairst

On a mission to save the Earth, Flack has no idea of who he is, what he is, or how he got here and yet, somehow, he must put together the pieces of a puzzle he does not know exists and, if he fails, then so too does the Earth!
Awaking, as if for the first time, Flack discovers that he has more powers at his disposal than the rest of humanity and, for a while, it is ‘fun’ to play with these powers but it does not take long for the real reason of his being there being revealed to him.
Assisted by strange visions of a unicorn with cryptic messages, Flack soon realizes just how deadly his situation is.
He has an unknown mission with an unknown outcome and his own fate, and the fate of mankind, rests solely on him working out the puzzles and dealing with a viscious and deadly enemy.
The time for fun and games has to stop; the time for action has arrived.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Setlu Vairst
• Release date: Nov 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311347114

Setlu Vairst

Setlu Vairst released the first book from The Occasion Mists series in December 2013. 'Unicorn - Journey Beyond Forever' is the story of a young unicorn's journey to a place where he may be reunited with his parents and where a final battle with the evil humans will take place.There are eight completed works ready to be released in the coming months. Book 2 in the series 'Danny and the Seagull Who Came Back... From The Dead! was released on the 22 December 2013 and the third book will be published in the coming weeks.Born in Hanover, Germany, raised in Glasgow, and currently residing in the North of England, Setlu is currently concentrating on releasing the remainder of the completed works in preparation for returning to the other books from the series. There are currently four other works in progress and others planned.Setlu lives with his wife, youngest son and three dogs, and so the 'writing' environment can be noisy and hectic at times.His current ambition is to have a 'room' off the beaten track where he has space to leave notes about the stories safely scattered around and does not have to go hunting for where he 'thinks' he last left his notes.http://www.setluvairst.com

Book preview

Within The Heart Of Time

Part I - Unknowing

Book #7 In The Occasion Mists Series

Setlu Vairst

Also in the Occasion Mists series:

Unicorn - Journey Beyond Forever #1

Danny and the Seagull Who Came Back... From The Dead! #2

Dragons of Terra Sphere - Part I - Deadly Sanctuary #3

Cobwebs of Pearl #4

Unicorn Sacrifices #5

The Little’s Voyage #6

Within the Heart of Time - Part I - Unknowing #7

Arthurian Time Crisis - Part I - Magician #8

Within The Heart Of Time

Part I - Past Relived

Copyright: Setlu Vairst

Published: January 2014

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, transferred, reproduced, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the author, as allowed under the terms and conditions in which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by the applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Version 1.0

Copyright © Setlu Vairst, 2014

The names, characters and incidents portrayed in this novel are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

The right of Setlu Vairst to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Find out more about the author and upcoming books online at www.setluvairst.com

or contact the author - [e-mail]

~~~

Within The Heart Of Time - Part I - Past Relived

Chapters

01 - Arrival

02 - A Shadow Amongst Shadows

03 - A Little Accommodating

04 - Clothes Maketh the Man

05 - Imbibing Knowledge

06 - Ashley, Sex, and Death

07 - Weary World Watching

08 - Water World

09 - Arid and Avid

10 - Running Native

11 - Near Death

12 - Indigenous Bound

13 - Now the Beautiful Goodbye

14 - Goodbye

Artwork

About the Author

Author’s Notes

Thank You

Dedication

Unicorn - Journey Beyond Forever

Danny and the Seagull Who Came Back... From the Dead!

Dragons of Terra Sphere - Part I - Deadly Sanctuary

Cobwebs of Pearl

Unicorn Sacrifices

The Little’s Voyage

Within the Heart of Time - Part I

Arthurian Time Crisis - Part I - Magician

01 - Arrival

I am in a dark, wet cobbled street. Dark walls around me shine from the glow of the occasional street lamp, making the rain-soaked walls glimmer and twinkle as if they are happy, contented walls. It is quiet, and the rain that must have fallen recently is certainly not falling now.

‘I do not know this place. I have never been here before. I am not afraid that I do not know how I got here, I am only uncertain as to why I am here.’

I look at the sky above me. ‘The stars are the same as they were… when? Since when…?’ I ask myself.

My eyes dart back and forth looking at my surroundings. I question my small pocket of knowledge with, ‘What should I do now that I am here…?’ but there is no reply.

The street remains quiet, as I do, and the damp air flows around me. I draw in a deep breath. The air is foul; a chemical-ridden wind of distaste is forced back out through my lips. I resolve to draw just small breaths of the foul air in future. I try to identify the smells in the air whilst, at the same time, searching for the hint of beauty that I believe to be hidden somewhere amidst these grotesque odours.

Suddenly, there are sounds, almost seeming to erupt violently into the quiet night air. There are the voices of people, sounding happy and jocular. I step back, pressing my back against the cold, wet wall so as to discretely observe this obviously advancing group for I know not whether these may be friend or enemy to me. The noise is closer now and then, from around a corner to my left, a figure runs out. It is a young man, and his dark jacket shines in the light cast out by a nearby street lamp. He shouts back to where he ran from. There is an immediate response, a spluttering burst of laughter. Then, more figures begin to appear from around that corner. One runs towards the first one whom I had seen and leaps upon his back, where the two then fall to the floor, tussling with each other. The people with them begin to cheer and shout, but it is hearty sounds they make and soon the two, playfully fighting around on the floor, stand up, the two of them laughing heartily and with their arms around each other’s shoulders.

You’re both wet! shrieks a female voice and the small crowd of people laugh even more.

I can see them all now and can see that they are dressed in many bright colours and I see, mainly from the females, the glitter of metal and jewels, which are either tied firm or hanging randomly around their near naked bodies. For a moment, I feel nervous and scared as I detect that these people are beginning to move in my direction. I do not believe that I am ready for an encounter with any of these people yet, as my mind holds little information about where I am and what I am doing here.

Although I know that it is not true, I feel as though I am a new-born, fresh from the womb and looking out upon a strange new world that I know nothing about.

02 - A Shadow Amongst Shadows

I look down at my own body. I am naked and I am a shadow amongst shadows, trying to push my body back into the wall behind me, trying to hide, trying to become invisible, for my mind knows not who I am nor why I am here. I wish no questions to be put to me until I have some answers of my own. I know that I am a stranger here, I am someone who should not be in this place, and these feelings only serve to make me more confused as I try to decide what actions I can and should take in my immediate future. There is a knowledge in me that tells me that I should remain hidden from all, but this also confuses me. ‘If am here, then it is for a purpose and I know that the purpose must involve interaction with those who live in this place. What must I do? What is my reason for being here?’ Only silence sits in my mind as I ask myself these questions and this silence begins to unnerve me. ‘Why do I not know who, or what, I am?’

The singing and shouting of fun becomes suddenly louder as I realise that the small group is drawing nearer. I press back harder, trying to hide myself between the multitudes of boringly similar bricks that make up the wet wall that I am leaning against. I am in partial darkness and so it is of no surprise to me that a few walk past before one of them actually sees me there hiding, playing as a ghost, and trying to hide as a not-so-hidden shadow amongst shadows. It is the eyes of one of the females who first seeks me out and she calls me towards her.

I step forward, slowly, and I am aware that I am now wearing shiny, black trousers, a black shirt and a white jacket. I cannot explain to myself where they have come from and, instead, just accept that they are there and they do me good because they are there. As I see the way that these people are clothed, I fear my nakedness would have caused them alarm and brought unnecessary attention to me.

Stepping further forward, I flick the lighter in my hand and with the flame that follows I light the cigarette that has appeared in my mouth. The girl begins to speak to me, but the voices of the others are drowning out her words as they start shouting things such as, Got a spare smoke, mate?

Don’t be so cheeky, shouts another female voice and then various other remarks come through the damp night air, reflecting the fact that they desired the cigarettes that I had.

I held them forward. One youth, tall, blonde, and with a thin moustache, took them from me.

The girl, who had been the first of the group to speak to me, stood staring at me. She was pretty. She wore a deep brown skirt, very short with a matching bikini top, which covered all of her breasts and some of her stomach. She smiled at me and so I smiled back at her.

A youth, but not the tall blonde male that I had given the cigarettes to originally, brought back the remains of the packet, after all who required one had been satisfied. When I gestured that he may keep the packet and its contents, he nodded his acceptance and gave a large ‘Whoop’ of delight and ran back to join the rest of the group, which had by now moved past the position where I was standing and were moving slowly into the distance.

One girl was left staring at me, the one whom had originally seen me trying to hide in the shadows of the night. Don’t I get a cigarette? she enquired.

I held up my hand. There was a full packet of cigarettes in my hand and she slowly drew one of the offered objects out of its place in the packet. My other hand produced a lighter, already lit, and I held it for her while she drew the first breath of life out of the cigarette. She held her eyes on me all the time.

Thanks, she said, pulling her head back. You’re kind of cute. Are you on your own? Do you want to come for a drink with us? she asked me.

I nodded my reply. I was wary, but it appeared a better proposition than standing naked in the wet street. I hope that I would find some answers to where I was, or who I was, if I accompanied this group.

The girl turned herself side on to me and indicated, by moving her elbow slightly outwards, that I was to link arms with her. I walked forward and took her arm in the desired way and we began to follow the shouting and laughter that was, by now, becoming fairly distant. The girl indicated that we better hurry by trying to walk faster whilst pulling me along.

There was a sudden bright blue flash, and the girl jumped nervously. I heard her moan ‘lightning’ but her sounds were being drowned by the noise of the rest of the people who were walking along with us now in the centre of their group.

How’d you catch up so quickly? enquired another female member of the group to the girl that I was linked to. Though she spoke to her friend, her eyes were upon me. The one I was with replied, I don’t know, I’m a bit tipsy… but when the lightning started I guess we must have started running.

She was staring at me by the time she finished the sentence. I simply shrugged my shoulders, not assisting her in her quest for further information. The other girl, who had come across to ask how we had caught up so quickly, merely muttered that she had ‘seen no lightning’ and moved over to walk along with someone else in the group.

The girl beside me squeezed my arm. I looked down at her and she smiled and placed her head on my shoulder. I found her trust in me quite flattering. Perhaps it was a good sign and showed that all people in the place where I now existed were friendly. ‘However, if they are, then why am I so nervous about who I am and where I am from? How did I know that, inside, I knew that I had to be careful?’ I asked myself.

We walked along as a silent couple and I listened, fascinated, to the shouts and calls of the group as they laughed and joked their way through the cobbled streets to our destination, to the place where they were journeying to be able to imbibe in the surroundings of their choice. The rest of our small journey was uneventful. The people around me continued in their jocular pursuits. Conversations were started, stopped, restarted, new ones created… My mind was dizzy trying to keep up with their words and baffled by the use of words that were so strange to me.

I had resigned to keep myself in as low a profile as possible as I wanted no undue attention, but I was beginning to be worried in case my lack of input into the conversations around me might actually bring more unwanted attention my way.

I still had the girl linking my arm and she still appeared happy and contented as I responded, as vaguely as possible, to all of her questions. Particularly the questions that required, that in my reply, I would offer her as to some clue of where I had come from. Of that, I was unsure myself, and so I avoided the conversations that could lead back to any leading questions; questions that I was afraid of because I could not answer them because I had no answer to them myself.

The night was not too cold as we continued on our way and I was even becoming used to the strange clothes that now adorned my once naked body. The leg coverings I wore, ‘trousers’ they were called, brought a little attention to me.

Hey, are those pants real leather? How much did they cost? were just some of the questions I was asked pertaining to the leg garments I wore.

I spoke as little as possible and gradually questions coming at me, about me, began to diminish. One female commented to the one linked to me that I was ‘a bit of a dark horse.’ I did not know how to handle that expression because I could see no resemblance between myself and a dark horse but those around me only laughed gently at me being presented with this title. I volunteered a small laugh also and then their conversations began to change to various other topics that were of interest to them. I was conscious of my ‘linked-to-me’ partner looking up at me. I stared down at her upturned face.

You are a bit of a dark horse, aren’t you? What’s your name? she asked. Something told me that she was relaxed and tired. ‘Perhaps that is why she was content to walk along, leaning upon me.’

I placed an outstretched finger upon her lips and she immediately refrained from any more questions. Shrugging her shoulders, she placed her head once more against me. We walked on. I was curious as to how relaxed my companion was around me. ‘Was she always this trusting with people she had only just met or was she more sure about me than I was myself?’

The party grew quieter as we walked through the night, a number of new conversations had started up amongst those around me and those involved pursued them quietly and with more decorum than when my eyes had first seen them emerging from around that corner, with myself trying to hide in the dimness of shadows. The overall mood of the group started to get brighter and I realised why. Shortly after this upsurge in spirits, we began to approach a well-lit building that also emitted a kind of music that was unknown to me, and it came from the building at a noticeably high volume.

Music sounds good tonight, was one of the many expressions I heard which were being directed towards the sounds coming from this building. I hope they play some oldies, was another comment I heard.

The streets were still dark and wet as we made our way across the final road to enter the bright, hospitable, and somewhat noisy building. Myself, and my new-companion girl, slowed down to allow all of the other members of the group to enter ahead of us. As the doors opened, we were greeted with a huge blast of music that almost startled me. It was strange music but, in its own way, it was rhythmic and enjoyable, at least it was to those around me.

Ultimately, it was our turn to enter. I hesitated. The girl with me pulled me on. I allowed her to do so as my mind went about trying to prepare myself for whatever was going to be inside this strange, new building. A rather rotund man welcomed us as soon as we stepped through the doorway. His greeting for my linked-to-me companion was immediate but, as his eyes registered my presence, he maintained a cool look towards me.

Oh, this is my friend, she said to the man, as she saw his rather fired gaze.

The gaze changed and his face broke into a smile of many rolls of fat with his thin, black moustache all but vanishing up his nostrils. He requested my name and then, in the seconds I used for hesitation, my ‘companion’ told him that my name was ‘Dark Horse.’

He made reference that he was pleased to ‘be of my acquaintance,’ and then began ushering us further into the building with a sweeping gesture of the dirty white towel, which had been draped over his arm from the moment I first saw him. He also gave a mocking curtsey-type bow before turning his back on us and heading for a long, mid-height counter, behind which someone appeared to be pleased to finally have gotten this man’s attention.

I looked around the room. The counter, which the fat man had headed toward, started beside a huge window, which looked out onto the street by the way of which we had just entered. Written on this window, in a form of stylised wording, were three words, RAB ENIW S’ONIG, which I realised was Gino’s Wine Bar, reversed. I was relieved to know that I knew the written language of this place and was so familiar with it that I was able to see the correct wording attached to the reversed letters.

The counter, which began at the window, terminated some three-body lengths into the room. It was brightly lit and appeared to be reserved for the obtaining of various drinks, which were being supplied in glass containers of various sizes and shapes. A few people stood at this counter trying to perform some repartee between themselves and two females on the other side of the counter. I could not help but grin to myself as, somehow, the scene appeared amusing.

The rest of the huge room was ‘dark’ in comparison to this counter, although there were lights, suspended by wire, hanging down from a brightly coloured ceiling. The lights were all uniform in their design. The discrepancies being that they all hung at different lengths, in clusters of three, from the ceiling. There were different colours but each cluster was the same colour. I found there to be a distinct prettiness about them that I could appreciate.

People were sitting around upon the many seats within the few alcove type areas, and were talking and drinking in such a way that the atmosphere was filled with a sense of excited communication. The music was loud and seemed to bounce along on the firmer foundations of the obvious conversations that were taking place.

Hello, Dark Horse, how about a drink? My attention had wandered a little, and was being requested of by my newfound companion.

I nodded, and she continued staring at me for a little while and then, shrugging her shoulders, she requested what it was I required. I, in turn, shrugged my own shoulders, whilst I withdrew my cigarettes and offered her one. She took a deep breath, I could tell by her shoulder movements, and walked off toward the bar saying something about ‘No smoking allowed in here, and Gentlemen should go to the bar’ and, finally, she shouted out above the noise of the music and conversations around me, I’ll just get ‘whatever’ for you.

I watched her walking towards the counter as she too joined the other people there who were trying to get the attention of the two females who were serving the required drinks. There appeared to be a requirement for more than the two females on the far side of the bar as each appeared to be frantically preparing drinks and trying to keep note of the persons on the other side of the bar. I had a feeling that my new found friend might be away from me for a little time. The male who had welcomed us into this place was no longer to be seen and was elsewhere about his business.

As I had watched her walk to seek out the desired refreshments, I could not help but notice the sensuous movements her hips made as she sauntered her way across the floor. I considered going and standing with her but decided against. I felt that it would serve me better if I used this time to find out more about the place that I was in.

I drew long and hard on the cigarette, which I had not lit. I could not taste anything but it gave me something to occupy myself with and I was hoping that it would help me blend into my surrounding. I chose to walk further into the huge room, moving down three carpet-covered steps and realised, as I went deeper into the building, that my eyes were fast becoming accustomed to the lack of light within the room. Upon reaching the last step, I stood with one foot on that last step and one on the floor. My arm was placed on a round metal rail, which shadowed the stairs on their descent. I stood staring at the flickering lights that blinked and twinkled wildly amidst the reflections on the metal.

Suddenly, my arm was gripped and I was spun around to face a rather beautiful, stunning female creature. She was smiling up at me.

I returned the smile. She said Hi with a huge, half-shy and half-glamorous smile on her slightly tilted head. I nodded in recognition. She immediately linked my arm and started to pull me away from the staircase and guide me over towards some seats, which were in a dark corner. I neither resisted nor pushed my way across. She smelt nice.

Gliding toward the seats, we were no sooner sitting and then she began to treat me as if I were some age-old friend of hers. She began telling me many things about herself, which she decided were of a significant nature. I relaxed my body muscles and sat quietly, quite prepared for this one-way conversation.

All the time I sat there, listening, she was moving closer to me. Her legs were crossed in a very elegant fashion as she leaned forward to me. Her breath was sweet band was the result, no doubt, of what she had been drinking.

While talking, she was constantly playing with a piece of jewellery, which dangled around her neck. I could not help but stare. Not solely at the jewellery but at her figure, or at least the parts of her figure that were trying to encompass her dangling jewellery. She saw me staring. Her hand fell from the jewellery, slowly, to allow me to look at the jewellery properly.

Then, in the darkness of the corner, she raised her hand once more, taking hold of the cloth that draped her upper figure. Slowly, she pulled the cloth forward. My eyes looked into that abyss and I could almost feel those tender curves upon my chest. I could almost hear her cries of passion... almost. I looked at her face and her eyes were staring straight back at me. Her face was smiling. It was the smile of a person who had done a job very well. That, she had. I was aroused. I sat there for a moment staring at her, my mind furiously thinking...

She, on the other hand, was happy to sit there and let me put the next scene into play. I knew what it was that I craved for, but not here. ‘Surely, she couldn’t expect that here? I cannot see any others body-mixing in this place but I was a stranger to this place. What it is that I should or should not do?’ I looked around, all the time her eyes were upon me, but I still could not see any other couples in this place who were copulating in any fashion, nor any naked bodies anywhere for that matter. Obviously, there must be places where one could go, but I did not know where any would or could be in this place. The only building I knew, since finding myself naked amidst those dark, cobbled streets, was the one I was in right now.

She was an impatient girl, for all the time I had been thinking these things out in my head she had gotten bored of waiting. The first I knew of this was when she stood up, drawing my attention, thanking me for a ‘wonderful time,’ with her voice reeking of sarcasm as she began to walk away. Standing up to follow her, I had to walk quickly to reach her. She turned, startled, as I put my arm around her waist and guided her quickly towards a door marked ‘LADIES.’

She gave another startled cry as we went through the door as she beheld the spectacle that awaited her. At first, she flinched. Then, unquestionably, she blinked her eyes to see if what she was looking at would still be there when she opened them again. I could not help but grin to myself.

But how? she questioned me. I simply shrugged my shoulders and lit a cigarette.

I kept on smiling as she walked further into the room, seeing objects that she had not been expecting to see in here. The whole room had a tangerine and peach effect. There were many beautiful ornaments spread out within the room. It was seductively lit and the huge bed of many silken sheets greatly attained her interest.

But the door? she said, not even turning to face me, instead merely pointing an outstretched hand in the direction of myself and the door behind me.

I never answered and she turned to meet my gaze… my answer. I put a finger to my lips and then, using my other hand, indicated that she should advance towards the bed, the majesty that offered a paradise merely by sleeping upon it, though she knew that we were not here to sleep upon it. She had her back to me, completely, for only a second and then, in that moment, I was lying naked upon the bed. I inhaled the luxurious scents that filled the air. For a second they reminded me of a someplace... a somewhere. A somewhere past, where my memory would not quite stretch to...

Returning to my present, I found myself becoming greatly aroused as I saw that she stood before me, slowly and gently removing her clothes, always keeping her eyes upon mine, and always holding a certain look of anticipated pleasure in her eyes. Always, a smile upon her still slightly stunned face, and now her face had a decided air of someone who was about to indulge in something wonderful…

There would be no attempt made by me to disappoint her as I saw her breasts moving gently with a warmth about them as she stepped up onto the bed. Her ruby red lips, vivid amongst the colours of the room, shone upon me as they descended upon my own waiting lips.

Our kissing began as she was still lowering her body down onto to the bed beside me, our skins touching, our passion rising. In a frenzy of arms and twisting legs and hips, I suddenly felt her warmth upon me as she felt my warmth within her. With one of her breasts squeezed and cupped within one of my hands, somewhere amidst our heavy breathing we began to melt into a fantasy, as our feelings collided in a rush of pure erotic hunger.

Afterwards, I was back at the seat from which the girl and I had left before setting off upon our erotic encounter. I was thinking back to the physical engagement that we had embarked upon when my thoughts were returned, abruptly, to the present. It was the words ‘dark horse in a dark corner’ which roused me. Looking up, I was confronted with the sight of the girl with whom I had arrived at this place with.

She stood before me with two drinks, one in either hand, and I hastily made to stand up to help her allocate them to positions upon the table which stood between us, when our attention, both to my shock and her annoyance, was dragged off in another direction. Two females seemed to be having a disagreement in the doorway to the room that was marked ‘LADIES.’

The girl with the drinks placed them down, without my offered assistance and then sat, quickly, beside me, to observe what was going on in the other part of the room where the two females were having their altercation. In fact, it appeared that most people were curious about the scene that was developing, as most heads were turning and facing in that particular direction, drawn there by the raised voices and waving of arms.

My ‘companion’ asked me, What is going on? and I simply shrugged my shoulders. Picking up my drink, I took a small sip. Peering over the top of the glass, I noticed that the girl with her back to me was, in fact, the girl with whom I had had my recent sensual encounter. I noticed that the people who were staring at the scene were still smiling as they all seemed to enjoy this particular piece of entertainment.

Quite suddenly, my ‘encounter’ girl turned herself around and stared directly into my eyes. For a second, I looked away and when my gaze returned to her direction, I was surprised to see that she was rapidly walking toward me. I could see the anger in her eyes as well as feel it run its course down the back of my neck. Everybody’s attention was now diverted, suddenly, towards me.

The girl next to me, I noticed, glanced at me and then stared back, hard, at the advancing female. The quickly advancing figure reached me. The room around me became almost still, though the rumble of music thumped its bass notes deep into the air that I breathed.

My ‘encounter’ girl began to speak, but my answering gaze was ready. My eyes went deep into her naked memory, my mind leapt into hers and I hastily rummaged around the baggage of her thoughts, rearranging items, and then left her mind, though not quite as I had found it.

Then, when at last she spoke, she simply said, Have you got a light, please?

All the thoughts, the things that she had wanted to say to me when she had first began to advance toward my position, had flown her memory. I was relieved that I had responded quickly and appeared to have done the correct thing to avoid a confrontation that I believed I was not in any position to handle.

Flicking my lighter into life, I watched her as she leant forward to take a light with the cigarette that had mysteriously appeared in her hand when she began walking towards me. She muttered a brief acknowledgement, which indicated that she was grateful for the light then, as quickly as she had arrived, she walked away. Within a few yards, I saw her throw the cigarette to the floor as she began coughing.

What was that all about? my companion next to me enquired. I shrugged my shoulders and then she said something about that fact that ‘I was not the only ‘strange one’ here tonight.’

I smiled. She smiled. Then she burst into questions of where I had been. I allowed her to ramble on about all the places she said she had looked. Eventually, she was quiet. I was glad of that. I wanted to have a time to think, a time to ponder. Obviously I would have to be very careful about the way I presented myself to the people I encountered in this world. I knew that I was vastly different from them because, when I first found myself standing naked in the rain, something told me that I was not the same as those whom I would encounter here. That was why I had chosen to try to hide in the shadows while I got my bearings. I wanted more time to find out about myself and about the place that I was in.

I knew that I would have to curb all of my actions and only mimic those mannerisms manifested by the majority that I had already met. Discretion was now a necessity I could not afford to become lenient with. I yearned to leave this place, but I could not. I neither knew how or why I had come to be here. I yearned for a faraway place, a distance, a latitude and longitude in another world. Another ‘here,’ that was truly mine.

Something nagging in the depths of my mind told me there were still many other differences between myself and the people that I now dwelt amongst. Differences that I could not name and yet I knew existed, and something told me that I would discover them all in time.

A vivid turquoise-blue ocean, lapping with polite waves upon a shore as golden as the full moon is silver. The ocean had an almost metallic hue to it… and beyond its shores there was something that I could not clearly see; something vast, something seeming to beckon me to look harder, to walk toward it, to be absorbed by it.

I felt it was a city, a home... my home.

I suddenly felt lost. ‘Where is that ocean? Where is that beautiful sea? Where am I now?’

You’re not drinking, said a voice beside me and suddenly that beautiful ocean with its poetic calling leapt from my mind as I returned once more to answer questions bestowed upon me by my very un-knowledgeable chaperone.

In immediate reply to her I picked up my glass, twice the size of her own I noted, placed its cold edge against my lips and then, tilting my head a little, I tilted the glass gradually until the liquid had all but disappeared down my throat.

She laughingly informed me that I didn’t have to drink it all at once.

She struck a chord of memory, as I mistily recalled a drink from far, far away. It was a blue drink. It held within it a taste of oyster and grapefruit… and it was polite to drink it in one mouthful. I realised or recalled that we only served them in tiny measures served in pure golden goblets. My mouth began to water for the taste of that drink but I could not even remember its name. I was alarmed! I did not want to panic but I wanted to know who I was, where I was from…

My chaperone’s face became the picture I was seeing as my vision stopped watching a memory and began concentrating upon the present. She had a pleased and satisfied smile on her face and I realised ‘why’ almost straight away because she, also, had emptied her glass. As she smiled I glanced into her mind and there, amidst a collection of prettily arranged thoughts, I saw that by drinking quickly she was, by doing so, taking herself into a kind of harmless, high-energy pattern. A pattern, her mind told me, that would make her happy and relaxed and that it would do the same for me.

I smiled and with it, her smile became longer and then, quickly, she delicately picked up her emptied glass from above, using only two fingers. It was another indication that she wanted more… and I knew I also ‘wanted more.’ I, too, wished to be relaxed.

I stood up and immediately I received a pleasant sensation somewhere in my mind. My legs seemed to giggle with me. I liked this feeling. I wanted to increase this feeling. I knew that my chaperone was watching me as I walked to the ‘drinks dispensary.’

By the time I arrived, the sensations I had experienced when I had first stood up had all but gone. I knew, inside, that I defiantly wanted more of these sensations and, if possible, I wanted even stronger sensations this time. Along which was called ‘the bar,’ there were a few other people. I could hear them talking quite clearly. They all seemed in pleasant and relaxed spirits All, that was, except for one! I could detect a high pattern of unhappiness.

Staring in the direction that I sensed these emotions coming from I found myself looking into a girl’s face. Her head was bowed slightly forward, her blonde hair covering her face. No sooner had my gaze rested upon her and she looked up, staring directly back at me. It was my ‘encounter’ girl. Her eyes were sad and there were dry tears upon her face. She stared long at me as various conversations continued around us.

Looking into her mind, I found that she had had many of the drinks that can produce the pleasant sensations but, for some reason, it had not worked on her. Searching, I caught fleeting thoughts from her mind as it went about a slipshod analytical process. Her mind said, ‘It did happen. I didn’t imagine it. There WAS a bedroom beyond that door.’ And, as she stared at me, I heard her mind telling herself… ‘It was you. It was you. It was you…’

I felt guilty inside, for I knew I had done wrong. I stared long and hard at her, using my mind to alter her mind and cause the memory that upset her to leave her mind. The events were erased, forgotten, let slip to live in places where thoughts go that the mind cannot reach. With the memory of our encounter gone from her, and any memories she had of me vanquished as well, she became slightly embarrassed by the fact she was staring at me. She looked away.

Then, slowly, she turned her head back toward me, regarding me as a stranger, and smiled. I returned the smile. She delicately licked her top lip. Then allowed her hand to first brush some of her hair away from her face and then allow her hand to, seemingly in innocence, to ride slowly down the define of her left breast. She was teasing me with her body, but she would never know that I had once shared her body. I had once kissed those very breasts and lips that she now tried to temp me with. I looked away, hoping to cause her no offence but knowing, inside, from when I had looked at her mind, that I would undoubtedly hurt her ‘ego.’

A person behind the bar, a young girl, was enquiring if I was being server yet?

I shook my head. She stood waiting, patiently, yet aware that many others were waiting to be asked the same question. I realised that she wished me to choose which drinks I required.

‘I do not know! What drinks shall I obtain?’ Quickly, I scanned the tips of the thoughts of the people around me. Beside me, a man requested a ‘Pernod and black’ and a ‘Red Witch.’ I nodded at the girl whilst pointing at the man.

The same as him? she said in acknowledgement. I nodded again and she off to retrieve the drinks for me. I had to admit that I was very much looking forward to the new, fresh sensations that I knew I would be feeling very soon.

My attention wandered off in the direction in which I had last seen my encounter girl. She was gone. I looked around quickly and just managed to catch a glimpse of her standing with a young male… and she looked as though she had a very tight grasp upon his arm. I smiled and, inside, I wished for her the kind of night that she wanted for herself, whatever it may be.

I returned my attention to the girl who was providing me with the drinks as she had, by now, placed one in front of me. Then, as she turned to retrieve the second one, I picked up the drink already there and then, wishing to feel those sensations again, drowned my eager, awaiting throat with the liquid. It was sweet and it was a very unusual taste for me. As the glass came away from my lips, and a burning sensation ran the course of my throat and stomach, I saw the drink provider was back.

She placed the drink in front of me, the other one, before saying …and that’s your Pernod and black. Smiling at me, she said, Do you want that glass refilled? pointing at the empty container, held warmly, within my grasp. I nodded. Then, as I nodded, I saw a much larger glass on the bar and so I pointed to it.

She gave a little laugh, and said, You want a double Red Witch? You’re going to be out of it pretty soon.

I nodded.

Is it your birthday or something? she asked.

I paused. I knew that I was born a long, long time ago, but I did not want her to know that. So, if she only thinks it is my birthday then that would be fine. I nodded.

Okay, birthday boy she said. So, it’s your birthday. Who are you with?

I shrugged my shoulders.

Oh, your with everyone and no-one, she said.

I was not sure what it was that she meant but I wanted her to hurry up and go away and return with my drink. Returning a few moments later with my drink, I found my mouth was watering itself excitedly as my mind drooled over the anticipation of the liquid.

…And before I charge you, here’s a little something on the house. It is customary here to give a bottle of champagne to each birthday host. There’s no charge for the champagne, you only have to pay for the other drinks.

With that, she turned away to a small machine with figures glowing on its readout display. Obviously, I was going to be expected to give something in return for these drinks.

I quickly scanned the thoughts of those around me. ‘Money’ was the item that I would need to complete this transaction. In addition, deeper in their thoughts, were the ways in which they obtained their money, but I had no time to go into that for the girl was returning to me.

Automatically, my hand went into my outer garments outside pocket, and I extracted a roll of paper. I picked up a thought from the man next to me.

‘Jeez! Look at that wad of money,’ he thought.

Obviously, he was pleased that I had the necessary ‘money’ to exchange for my drinks. As the girl came back and quoted a figure she had gotten from her machine, I peeled away the top piece of paper from my bundle. Glancing at it, I noticed how ‘prettily’ it was decorated. She took the money that I was offering and, as she walked away, I picked up the drink glasses that I had been given and I begin to walk back to my companion, my newfound friend.

She was waiting where I had left her and she smiled as I placed the drinks on the table, before asking me, Where I was going, as I turned my back to her and began to trace my steps back to the bar.

I noticed that my walking was not as straight and direct as I thought it should be but, in its ineffectiveness, I found a relaxant somewhere within myself and so I ignored my legs and continued to take notice of what my eyes saw, and how my mind seemed to giggle at me. It was fun, a strange fun being carried out in the strangest of circumstances that I could ever recall myself as being in. Moreover, that thought made me laugh inside because I knew so little about myself. Something told me that it had been a long time since I had had that kind of feeling. Or was it something new that I was getting confused with, ‘something that is similar to which I had experienced some long time ago.’

It did not seem to matter for my mind told me ‘here is now. Past is somewhere else,’ and my mind added, ‘we are definitely not somewhere else.’

I would not even try to conjecture any more, I was quite happy where I was. I was here and I felt good. Reaching the bar, I proceeded to pick up the bottle of champagne and the two glasses that were with it. The same female, who had served me originally, came running across to ‘give me my change.’ I shook my head and nodded toward her. She said she ‘could not take that much!’ I shrugged and was about to turn away, when she enquired what she should do with it.

I just glanced back, smiled and proceeded back to the table where I had left the girl, my friend. Coming in loud and clear on my thought waves, were a couple of those from the man who had been beside me at the bar. I was becoming a little unclear within my thoughts but, from what I picked up from his mind, he seemed very interested in the ‘money’ that I was carrying. I thought to myself that, ‘surely he must have some of his own but, if not, then he could gladly have which I had if he merely came and asked of me, politely.’

I reached my companion, my friend. It is funny, but it is only now that I realise that I am using common everyday words from this place, using them as if I had always used them, though I knew that this was not the truth. I was now calling my companion, my friend. It felt right… and above all, it felt relaxed.

Greeting me with a huge smile, I heard her exclamation of surprise as I placed the bottle of champagne on the table. I slid between our table and the one placed fairly close to it, and ‘slumped’ down, half landing upon my friend.

She laughed, saying, "I think the drink is getting to you.’

She picked up her drink and, indicating for me to do the same, which I did as my lips were hungering for the taste of the drink again.

To Dark Horse, and his becoming human qualities, she said, and then eagerly placed the drink to her lips. I mimicked her actions and the drink flowed beautifully down my own throat, exciting parts of me that I had never really been aware of before, so it seemed.

When I replaced my glass on the table, I knew it was only half-empty. I was glad. I wanted to experience drinking some more of it soon. However, my friend had finished her drink and was now reaching, laughingly, for the champagne bottle. She took hold of it, looking at the writing on it for a second and then she passed it on to me. It was sealed, and the liquid would not flow out. I found this out for sure when I tipped the bottle up for a second and tried to pour the drink. My friend laughed; it was a contagious laugh for I too began to laugh.

She placed her head forward and down as she laughed. While she was not looking, I took the opportunity to make the blockage in the bottle go away. It did, and when my friend lifted her head I was already pouring this drink into the glasses I had brought with it.

Where did the cork go? she enquired. I shrugged my shoulders, and she replied to my gesture with a small laugh.

I handed her the glass that I had poured for her and she raised it gently into the air, a small amount of the drink diving over the sides and falling down to her knees. She giggled a little bit more. Her free hand went down to wipe away the spilt drink. I watched her hand glide up and down her thigh and knee. I looked at her legs. The wetness was making them shimmer and glisten in the partial darkness and blinking lights. They looked beautiful to me. I wanted to kiss them… I wanted to…

You’re not listening to me, she said.

I glanced up at her eyes.

Let’s have a little drink to the poor champagne cork. C’mon, pick up your glass.

I had an idea. ‘If she was so sorry about the missing champagne cork…’

To the missing champagne cork… May he have a wonderful night, she said, lifting the drink to her lips.

Emitting a small shriek, she began laughing as she pulled the glass away from her pouting mouth, spilling more champagne on her beautiful legs.

How’d you get the cork in my glass? she giggled, brushing the spilt drink from her slender legs, and then we both laughed some more.

I merely shrugged my shoulders in a vain effort to take the blame from me… and then she only laughed more. She placed the glass down and, still laughing, placed two delicate fingers into the glass, extracted the cork and threw it at me. I laughed.

The cork bounced from me and fell, hidden, somewhere on the floor. I felt it was both a childish game and a silly game, though I was enjoying it immensely. The sensations I felt were good. My hand went out automatically to take hold of my glass of champagne. The girl did likewise and we both sat there silently giggling as we sipped delicately at our drinks.

We quietened down gradually and I had the feeling of a purposefully, plodding sleepiness coming over me. My friend allowed herself to slump against me and we sat there awhile in a comfortable silence. Even the loud music and the clamour of constant conversation seemed distant and hazy. It held a dreamlike quality for me as I sat there, and I breathed in a large sighing breath of contentment and complete relaxation.

Somewhere in the dim, almost too far to reach corners of my mind, haunting thoughts were questioning me. Questioning me as to who I was, what I was, and where I am now, but in my happy, drowsy state, I ignore them and sit there with my new companion, my friend. The two of us in our dreamlike states, contented and relaxed, enjoying our own silence in the midst of the music and excitement around us. ‘We are an island of solitude in a thunderous storm!’

After a while, I thought that she had fallen asleep on me but I was surprised as her hand went out to take hold of her drink. She slowly sat upright so as to drink it properly and I withdrew my arm, which had somehow managed to become draped across her shoulders, and decided to have some more of my ‘Red Witch.’

Suddenly the lights began to come on and the music stopped playing. As my mind came to try and adjust to this rather dramatic change, my eyes began to tell me that people were beginning to stand and leave. Not all of them but enough to convince me that there was a need to be leaving this place.

Are you going to walk me to my house? enquired the sleepy voice of my friend.

Sitting straighter and turning most of my body to face her and answer her question, I gave her a smile and a nod. She seemed pleased and then, taking hold of my hand, she gave it a gentle, friendly squeeze and then, standing up, she turned her head away to look in the direction of the door through which we had arrived.

As she stood, and I remained sitting, my eyes burned into the flesh of her legs, held teasingly near enough to kiss. She had proud shape in those legs. I was still staring, dreaming, when she looked down at me