Wicked Minds

Chapter 01 || Club Artic

P.O.V SOPHIA

7 years later

Sleeping was the only thing I liked for the last few months.

Therefore, you could understand why I was more than pissed off when I was awakened by the irritating ringtone of my phone. The shrill sound echoed through my bedroom.

At 1 a.m.

Frowning, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Half blind, I scanned the nightstand for the vibrating thing. A yawn left my mouth and I scrunched up my nose when I smelled my own morning breath, yuck.

Whoever called could prepare for an invective, and without another glance at the caller ID I picked up.

"Listen, uppity i***t-" I began, but before I could complete my swearing ritual I was interrupted.

"Shut up and open your window." Sounded Zoë's voice on the other end of the line. Zoë was my best friend and, in fact, my only friend.

She was a treasure.

Unfortunately, she had a knack for showing up at my house in the middle of the night, uninvited.

"Hurry up." Sounded her voice again. Snarling that she shouldn't whine so much, I hung up and climbed out of bed.

Sleep-deprived, I hurried to my window which I then opened wide. The clammy evening air made my blond hair blow gently back and forth. I loved summer, purely because it brought with it the best evenings, evenings like this.

And indeed as I looked down Zoë stood looking up with a grin. The Blonde was waving a bottle at me, which I assumed was tequila.

"What's so important that you have to disturb my sleep at 1 a.m.?" I blurted downstairs.

Zoe shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and smiled mischievously. A smile that didn't bode well for anything. Usually it meant she was ready to get into mischief.

"Come downstairs and you'll find out."

I narrowed my eyes to slits and sighed. She knew I would let my curiosity win out and be downstairs in a few minutes anyway, as usual.

"Stay there and give me fifteen minutes."

"10 minutes," she countered. "And put on something decent, Hello Kitty." I snorted and looked down at my Hello Kitty pajamas, which had already stood the test of time. As long as it was comfortable I wore it and in doing so the only one who would see it was me.

I threw her a middle finger before closing the window again and running to my closet.

The only advantage to having a mother who was often out of the country was that you didn't have to be careful how much noise you made. Perfect for moments like this. With that thought, I swung open the doors to my closet and dutifully started looking for an outfit.

Because if there was one thing not to do, it was to keep Zoë Dupont waiting.

«―――»

"You're late." Snarled Zoe who almost pushed the screen of her phone into my face.

Panting, I looked at timer that read 10 minutes and 20 seconds in bold numbers. Was she serious now? She had simply been keeping the time. "So the drinks are on you tonight."

"You don't have a heart did you know that?" Zoe smiled devilishly at my comment and gave me a pout.

"Are you going to ask why I'm here or do I have to tell you myself?" I had almost forgotten why I had been in such a hurry and rolled my eyes.

"Tell me." If Zoe came to get you in the middle of the night it could mean two things.

One, she was having one of her emotional fits, ending with her in my bed while crying and eating my ice cream. Emphasis on my ice cream.

Or Two, she was dragging you to a club you didn't remember the next day.

I was betting on the latter.

Correction, I was hoping for the latter. After all, I had decided to put on one of my favorite black mini dresses that flattered my figure in all the right places.

"A new exclusive underground club has opened," Her eyes twinkled. "And guess who got two VIP passes?" She pulled out two black cards from her bag, which gleamed in the moonlight.

"Got it from Daddy?" I grinned as she rolled her eyes. Her father was rich, and by rich I meant filthy rich. He was a first class lawyer who had the connections in the right circles. If his daughter asked for two VIP tickets at an exclusive club she got them.

"Stop whining and get those nice legs moving. The longer we stand here the less we can dance and get drunk." With those words she drags me to the front of the house where the usual black Mercedes AMG is waiting for us.

In all the years I've known Zoe, that's the only car we've been transported in. Probably because her father didn't trust us with more expensive models. I don't blame him.

We were a mess.

Without another word, we let ourselves plop down in the leather seats of the car. Zoe signals to the driver that we are ready to leave and before I know it we are driving through the dark night.

«―――»

Club Artic was not visible to the naked eye unless you knew what you were looking for. It was located far away from the busy residential areas and the city, near the old industrial site that had not been in use since the 1990s. No one would come here looking for a club unless the club wanted to be found by you.

The last one counted for us.

Zoë deftly guided me through the small bits of scrap metal scattered around the grounds. In the dark it looked like the set for a horror movie, dark and ominous. In short it gave me the creeps.

Weeds grew everywhere and itched at your legs if you weren't careful. The way it looked Zoë was heading straight for the hangar in the middle of the property.

The hangar looked like a castle looming out of nowhere with hedges of weeds and debris surrounding it. I could vaguely hear in the far distance the bass vibrating from the music being played.

We had just reached the hangar when I felt the presence of someone else. My 6th sense was right as a figure came strolling out of the darkness of the hangar.

I anxiously took a step back but Zoe gave me a reassuring look.

The figure- a man- stopped right in front of us with a box in his hands. The man was dressed entirely in black, a silver chain dangling from his neck.

Next to the chain on his neck ran a pinkish scar that stopped just at his jaw, but that was not what surprised me the most. The mask he was wearing was.

A white mask hid his entire face. They were clearly bent on anonymity here.

"Tickets?" the man spoke. Zoe fished the two black cards out of her bag and held them out to the masked man, who was still holding the box.

He glanced fleetingly at the cards, and without dirtying another glance at them, he opened the box. Two masks that hid just your eyes were revealed and unlike the man's mask, these were pitch black.

Without hesitation, Zoe took the mask from the box and skillfully put it on her face.

"I didn't know masks were mandatory here?" I muttered to Zoe. She laughed softly.

"For some here, it's best if they hide their identity," She grabbed the second mask from the box and practically pushed it into my hands. "Now just put on your mask."

What kind of people came here that they didn't want to be recognized?

Dangerous people, whispered the little voice in my head.

I rubbed the soft velvet material of the mask before carefully putting it on. Zoe nodded at me with satisfaction.

"It looks good on you, Soph." Before I could answer, the man closed the box with a soft thud and turned around.

He began walking into the depths of the hangar without looking to see if we were following. So friendly I thought to myself.

The heels of his men's shoes made a hollow sound echo through the hangar. Hastily I grabbed Zoe's hand and followed the man to the middle of the hangar where the guy came to an abrupt halt.

Right in the middle of the floor overgrown with weeds was a frosted hatch that looked like it hadn't been opened in years.

What were we supposed to do here? I looked uncertainly at Zoe but she was too focused on the hatch to notice.

I had judged too soon because the next thing I know the man is opening the hatch with a loud creak. A set of stairs is revealed, loud music blares from the hollow of the hatch.

The smell of alcohol and something else sweet meets me.

"This is crazy!" Zoë proclaims, before descending into the hole without another glance around. Her blond hair disappears from view as she moves further and further into the darkness.

The man in the mask looks at me expectantly, his head slightly tilted when he sees that I make no move to descend the stairs. My thoughts are everywhere and nowhere at the moment.

What kind of club is this anyway?

Finally, I put my foot on the first step of the concrete stairs and continue descending with shaky legs. Looking over my shoulder, I see the white mask looking down at me.

"Welcome to club Artic, Sophia." A humorless laugh escapes from his throat. "Where reality and dreams are one."