Red Eye

Chapter 5: The Ascendant

     Night had fallen when Rex arrived where he needed to be. Standing in front of a bar, decorated with neon lights that clash with the surroundings of the bleak area, he looks at his phone.

     "10 o'clock," he says to himself. "Now's the time." He pushes the doors and walks into the bar. When he's inside, he observes his surroundings. Booths lined up against the wall to his left, a bathroom in the back, and the bar to his right, with seats lined up at the counter.

     "This place hasn't changed at all."

     "Welcome to The Constellation Bar." Rex looks to his right as he hears a voice. A pale white older woman, who was the size of the average twelve year old, pushed open a door that was next to the main serving area, while cleaning her glasses. She walks to the counter, puts her glasses on, and looks up.

     "Ah," she says with a surprised look on her face. "There's a face I never thought I'd see around here again," "Welcome back Black." Rex walks to the counter but doesn't sit down.

     "I could say the same for you Paula," "I didn't think you'd still be here after all this time." Paula looks around the bar.

     "Why leave a place where I feel welcomed and where I belong, even in my old age." She looks back at Rex. "I don't need to leave, because this bar is who I am." Rex stays silent as he simply nods. "But I assume you're not here to see me, as evident by the fact that you haven't been around here in two years."

     "Three years." Rex corrects.

     "Ah that's right," she chuckles. "My memory does still fail me at times." "What are you here for Rex?" Rex looks down and sighs.

     "I need to see her." Paula's smile transforms into a frown as she stares straight at Rex.

     "What's the-"

     "North Star." Rex interrupts. Paula signals Rex to follow her and leads him to the door that she came out of earlier.

     "You know where to find her," Paula says as she opens the door.

     Rex nods, "Thank you." He looks into the doorway to find a dark stairwell, with him only being able to see the first few steps. He walks into the dark and keeps walking down stairs that seem to go on forever. Narrowly avoiding tripping on himself, with each step he takes, he hears music, the sound of which growing louder. He arrives at the bottom, walks down a hallway, music growing even louder, and arrives at a door. He takes a deep breath, and opens the door.

     When the door opens, Rex's senses become overwhelmed. The bright, flashing, neon lights, the music loud enough to make someone suffer from hearing loss, the smell of sweaty people. All this reminded Rex as to why he hated being down there.

     "This club is still repulsive, despite the rules and ideas she tries to put in place." He makes his way through the massive crowd. His pushing causes the others in the crowd to push him, which ends up with Rex falling to the ground. While on the ground, the only thing he can see are the stomping feet around him and the glass under him, separating him from the water under the glass. Rex stands back up and continues to push his way through the crowd, trying to avoid being pushed to the ground. At last, Rex makes his way to the back of the room, but is blocked by a massive security guard, standing in front of the door leading further into the club. Rex looks up at the towering security guard and the guard stares back down at him.

     After a couple of seconds of locking eyes, the security guard shouts, "I don't know who you are, so I suggest you leave before I'm forced to remove you." The guard looks around the room. Rex follows his eyes, seeing the other towering security guards around the room, staring in their direction. Rex doesn't budge. The guards around the room start to walk to their direction, closing in on him, but he doesn't move an inch. They push through the crowd of people, causing a few to become furious, but when they see the guards that push them, they back off. The guards keep walking towards them, and when they're within 10 feet of Rex, they stop. The music stops. Everyone looks in their direction. The security guard steps aside and the door behind him opens.