Dark Dream

Dark Dreams, Part 2: The Apprentice Pillar

Charley saw something of the nature of fetishism that existed in the mainstream world of police and judges, priests and archbishops.

The people who followed the fetish scene merely borrowed these symbols of identity and control and used them for their own pleasure. In other words, they sexed it up.

He walked through a dark, private chamber and approached a man and a woman dressed as Gothic vampires. Their body language became inviting, like two spiders in a web, as he nodded and passed on by.

A highly charged scene awaited him as he passed the threshold and entered a vast vaulted room that acted as the main dance area.

Directly to his right there stood one of the fetish club's many expensive toys.

Repeated use had given the whipping post a patina you would enjoy on your favourite piece of furniture. Bodily fluids and friction from hot naked bodies had produced a conditioning effect which was hard to beat.

Gathered around this pole, there stood a mixed crowd of hungry voyeurs. The tension and excitement were visible as short cracks of the whip rang out, cutting through the DJ's progressive bass like a knife.

Charley watched for any hint of tension among the crowd. His job as a bouncer brought him into contact with many strange sights and strange people who then went home to their nice, respectable lives of teaching, politics, and dispensing the law.

"Charley!" A rubber-clad figure emerged from the shadows.

"Chee-Chee, is that you?"

She put her hands on her hips in her 'Little Miss Prissy' pose. "You like what you see?" She twirled around, allowing the meagre light to pick out the high spots of her sensuous rubber catsuit.

He found it hard not to admire the way the fiery sequins highlighted her exposed torso, arms, and shoulders.

"You look great, Chee-Chee," he said, resisting the base urge to scoop her up and whisk her off somewhere dark and quiet.

"Want some Hippie Crack?" she shouted, putting a half-deflated balloon to her mouth. The balloon shrank as she inhaled.

The club sold them over the bar. Tonight's colour was 'Virgin White', but they also came in silver, black and burgundy. Their colours rotated weekly, with red reserved for Christmas.

"I'm good."

"Still doing Charlie, Charley?"

He gave her a disapproving look and turned his gaze towards the dance floor. A distinct energy pulsed through the crowd tonight.

The stone vaulted ceiling hovered sixty feet above their heads and danced with light from the glitter balls and strobe lighting. It almost made it look like bats were fluttering around up there.

But then it was possible, given the age of the building.

She moved in close to shout in his ear. "One day you might tire of the Mundanes and join our happy crew? I think my family understands my lifestyle more than yours."

He put his mouth close to her ear. "You know this isn't the place—"

"We miss you, Charley. If it still bothers you that much, give it all away. We'd still want to see you, just not in your world."

She referred to his family's vast wealth and his occupation as a doorman. For her, the two cancelled each other out. His view differed, which was the problem.

He laughed. "Not everyone can live in a gilded cage."

"We don't all have to live in the gutter, either." She looked annoyed.

"Chee-Chee, I have to go; I'm working, remember?"

He looked across the room and caught sight of Jennet, a fellow bouncer and close friend. Chee-Chee, real name Rebecca, caught him looking and smiled broadly.

"Dear me, Charley, I see Jennet is still following you around the place? I can't believe she'd also lower herself to work as a bouncer in a fetish club. And all just to see her, Charley. What would Daddy think? Maybe I should pay him a visit at his practice on Harley Street and find out. I'm sure he could fit me in between Botox and liposuction sessions."

She laughed that deep throaty laugh that had so turned him on when they had been seeing each other.

This angered Charley, though he showed little outward indication and instinctively used someone bumping into him as a distraction.

Chee-Chee knew him only too well, though, and continued her goading. "Oh, Charley, are you getting sweet on Jennet? Has she finally managed to melt poor Charley's heart?"

"Keep Jennet and her dad out of this. If I hear you've been anywhere near Jennet's family, you'll have me to deal with."

He knew he'd been played, but had to make it clear that he would not budge on this issue and that there'd be hell to pay if she crossed him.

"That's my Charley. Treat me rough. You know I like it that way."

Despite himself, Charley remembered some of the highlights of treating Chee-Chee to her favourite pastime and making her groan with pleasure. He smiled at the thought and eyed her inviting figure, and knew his attention would please and maybe appease her.

She smiled. "Oh, I love it when you eye me up like a piece of meat in a butcher's shop. I still bring out the caveman in you, Charley. Just be gentle when you drag me around your cave by my hair. Well, not too gentle, just don't do it all day."

"Chee-Chee, you're terrible. When are you ever going to settle down and find a nice man who treats you well?"

"I've already found him, and I'm not giving up on him quite as easily as he'd like. Keep in touch, Charley. I'm always here for you."

She moved in close, grabbed his large hand, and placed it on her rear. The warm rubber felt malleable and strangely appealing.

He pulled it away, but only after giving her a friendly squeeze. "That's the Charley we know and love," she said teasingly, while planting a kiss on his right cheek.

He could smell a lingering pocket of her perfume as she drifted off to rejoin her small band of sin-loving friends.

He backtracked to the main room. The DJ was in his usual spot, dishing out tunes to the converted. Strobe lights added to the scene of confusion and chaos, making everything disjointed and hard to follow.

Behind the DJ and protected by Plexiglas, a large and intricately carved pillar stood proud of the heaving stone floor. It had snakes and Masonic symbols spiralling up and down its length.

It was supposed to depict the tree of knowledge and the bridge between the dark underground (hell) and the bright blue arching sky (heaven). To Charley, it looked like something you'd put on a wedding cake.

The story behind it was that a young stonemason had carved the pillar while his Master had been away abroad. His Master had a mind to research this very project to give himself the knowledge and confidence to take it on. It was going to be his fifth symphony, the masterpiece he'd be remembered for.

On his return, jealous of the workmanship, the Master Mason had struck the boy dead at the base of the pillar.

A bust of the Master (after his execution) had later been made by fellow masons and placed just across the room so that he might look on at the creation which had sparked such rage and envy.

Some said a curse lay upon it from that day.

After what seemed like an age, he decided he needed a lift. He signalled to Jennet and headed for the restroom.