Dusk Harbor 1999

Dance with Me

It was cold for an April evening. There wasn't a cloud in sight. The black sky glowed orange from the light pollution of the city and made the stars look faded and dull. The air was dry. Dusk Harbor was strange like that. A storm like no other one night, and then nothing the next.

Zoey took a deep breath of night air, and she leaned against the brick wall outside Cat's Haunt. Next to the front entrance. She adjusted the sleeves of her black windbreaker and slid her hands into her pockets.

She checked her inventory. A twenty dollar bill, a stick of gum, three quarters, a crinkled-up receipt from a burrito earlier, and some lint. She never carried much on her, she had a good amount of money to live off of but preferred to pretend like she was poor to avoid overspending. Told herself no a lot. Never bought more than was necessary.

She had seven outfits in total. Her hero costume, two work outfits, two dresses for parties, and two casual outfits which she never really used, considering she didn't have much in the way of friends or a social life. Making friends was dangerous. Liking a person only to lose them was too painful, so she kept her relationships strictly professional.

All her outfits were folded up under a loose floorboard in Olivia's house.

She took another deep breath, checked her watch that told her it was time to announce last call, and went inside the club.

"Alright, everyone. It's that time which we all hate the most." She said as she stepped over to her black onyx bar. Grabbed a stained old rag and went about wiping off the counter, "Last Call pals. Means you got a half an hour left. But you already knew that."

Mary, the elderly widowed mother of seven stood up, threw down the last of her drink, and placed the mug on the bar. Left twenty-five dollars pinned under it. Gave a sad smile and then turned for the door.

"Goodbye love!" She yelled out as she grabbed the handle.

"Goodbye Mary!" Zoey replied, waving after her, "see you tomorrow!"

Mr. Julius motioned her over with a nod of his head. She went over and put her palms down on the bar.

"What's up Mr. J?" She asked.

"I wanna let you know I won't be here for a while. I'm taking a vacation. So if you don't see me, that's why."

"Ok, thanks for letting me know. Where are you off to?"

"Rome. For a few days," he replied before his eyes stared off into nothing. Like he was remembering something or reliving something.

"That's great. Rome is beautiful this time of year," she said, recalling a trip there around the same time, a thieving trip. She'd stolen quite a few precious jewels and made a tasty profit off of them. So much that she didn't have to thieve for a little while.

Mr. Julius checked his watch and grunted.

"Well, I've got a flight to catch. I'll see you later," He stood up, walked to the door, glanced around at the nearly empty club one more time, and then left.

As always, Mr. Easters was the last one there. And he'd be there until the very last possible minute. Sometimes he stayed a little past closing time while she cleaned up, just rambling on about life and love.

But soon her team would be gathering in the den. She really couldn't let him stay late tonight. She had an assignment for them and time couldn't be wasted. It was important, she was going to select her second in command. In order to do that, she was going to have all of them chase drones around the city, and the person who caught the most would be second in command.

They had to find ways to not completely obliterate them. Ways to capture them without using their powers too much. They had to prove that they could apprehend targets in a smart and effective way.

She sighed, grabbed a broom, went about sweeping the floor, and waited impatiently for closing time.

"Would you do me a favor, Zoey?" Mr. Easters asked.

"That depends on what it is," she replied, turning to face him.

"Would you dance with me? It's been forever, I miss it," he said with a wistful sigh.

She remembered him talking about he and his late wife would dance until their legs gave out. They'd dance to anything, Sinatra, Van Halen, Billy Joel, it didn't matter to them.

Dancing was something she loved as well, once upon a time, dancing had saved her life. So when he asked, she couldn't help but smile from ear to ear and nod with great enthusiasm. It was like an old dormant part of her was waking up.

"I'd love to."