Moonlit Man (bxb)

Chapter 6 - Oh, How the Other Half Lives

A few weeks after his last nightmare, Sam was now in Kate's car, listening to the low murmur of the city which was dampened in the leather cabin. He put his sun visor down to stop being blinded by the bright rays penetrating through the windshield. Moments later, Kate approaches the side of the car juggling a cardboard cup holder filled with four cups, her handbag, sunglasses, and phone. "Take this, will you?" She passes the coffee to Sam through the open window before rummaging around for her keys, adjusting her pin-straight hair while slipping her phone into the pocket of her brown leather jacket.

"We'll be here all day" Sam teased while he took a sip of his coffee. Kate finally enters behind the wheel and says,

"Ready? Let's go." Sam chuckled as they both clicked their seatbelts into place. The car gave out a low grumble as it started and advanced smoothly out of the bay. Sam looked out at the bustling streets of Los Angeles. The gentle breeze stroked through his hair, revealing the small scar creeping out from his hairline. He noticed the clear bright sky scarcely dotted with excited pigeons flying around in messy loops. Buildings, both tall and short populated the grounds along with lampposts, traffic lights, trees, and fire hydrants. The busy murmur of traffic and the odd horns being sounded by disgruntled drivers who let out brash curse words could be heard while people trailed in various directions at different speeds on the sidewalks, almost like the colony of ants which settled in the garden of Sam's childhood home.

After several moments, he noticed that the more they drove towards Kate's house, the less crowded everything seemed. Instead of crammed buildings and busy intersecting streets, there were now neat houses spaced evenly, with small patches of neat, green grass and oak trees. Clean, modern cars were parked in gated driveways, accompanied by white picket fences. The car slowly came to a halt while a grand, black gate which was equal in height to the lampposts stood before them. Sam looked to his left and saw Kate looking out at an older man dressed in a smart white shirt, formal black trousers who was sitting behind a glass pane. "Hey Ernie, how are you?" Kate said kindly.

"Always happy to see you, dear." He smiled and gave a polite nod to Sam as he pressed a button on his desk. Sam then heard a thick metal clanking sound followed by a low whirring as the metal gate seemed to split in two and slowly recede into the walls on either side. As Kate drove through, she glanced at Sam who couldn't keep his eyes off the window.

The previous, neat houses with white picket fences were now gone and now all Sam could see were mammoth-sized mansions, mounted on large plots of land. A flurry of rich metals, intricately patterned stonework, and long panes of glass passed by as they drove through the quiet, smoothly paved street. The mansions varied in size and design, some were more traditional, with tall white pillars and some were more cutting edge, with infinity pools and glass ceilings. Sam noticed the trend of brilliant, bright-colored, exotic performance cars with smooth lines and fierce lights parked outside nearly every house.

Finally, they arrived at Kate's house which had a small bronze gate and a plaque that read, 'Hoffman residence'. She clicked a button from inside the car which opened the gates like the one before. They proceeded to drive for another minute, just to reach the front of the house. They stepped out and were met with a four-story mansion embedded with thick, white pillars that stood tall, holding each floor up with might. Small, neat bushes were spaced out evenly along a thin strip of well-maintained grass. They proceeded up the thick slabs of stone that made up the stairs, leading up to the tall mahogany doors. As if on cue, the door opened gracefully by a slender, gray-haired man who took the things out of Kate's hands. "Thank you, James," she said while walking casually into the grand vestibule which was furnished with dark furniture, elegant lighting, and accents of black and gold. Sam followed in behind her, feeling rather small and exposed in such a grand space.