Destroyer of Time: Pyrokinesis

Chapter Five: Something smells fishy

As we left the bar, my thoughts were still on that mysterious girl that just disappeared so quickly. I kept asking myself what reason she had for leaving, and the thing that irritated me more was before she vanished, she seemed like she was about to reveal something about herself. Now, all that confession just faded away with her. 

Still deep in my thoughts, I didn't notice that Nick stopped walking until I bumped into his back, pushing me hard backward and nearly making me stumbled to the ground if my reflex wasn't fast.

"What the hell, man? Why did you stop?" I asked, almost yelling at him.

     "Of course you didn't notice because you keep daydreaming, or night dreaming. Whatever! My point is that you're stupid. 

     "You're stupid," I weakly retorted.

He flicked my forehead, and I reeled back away from her, rubbing the attacked area. "For your information, we're already in the place that we're supposed to be, and you wouldn't bump into me if you're paying close attention to where you're going." He grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. "Jeez, stop daydreaming, dude, you're embarrassing us," he stated, but he said it in a quiet tone, so I had to lean closer to him to hear what he was saying.

     "Embarrassing us---" I started, but for the first time, I realized that we had an audience, and by the look on their faces, they were holding back laughter. 

     What the hell is happening to me today? Why do I keep embarrassing myself like a small kid? Maybe, I should start paying attention to what's happening around me because I didn't even know how the hell I got here.

     "Benoît, répondre à l'ami que je parle, Hunter Pendigram," Nick stated in French. It means: "Benedict, meet the friend that I’m talking about." Nick knew six languages as far as I was aware. Not bad, but compared to me, he was still an amateur linguist because I knew more languages than that. The reasons I knew a lot of languages were: First, I was a born linguist. Second and last was that even though my dad didn't pay attention to me when I was a kid, his hired tutors did so they taught me a lot of stuff that would probably seem useless. 

     "Hunter Pendigram, monsieur, ravi de vous rencontrer," I said, holding out my hand to shake the hand of the guy in the middle, I said: Hunter Pendigram, sir, nice to meet you in French because he looks like he was French and Nick talked to him in French, so I thought he only understood French.

     "Je vois que Vous êtes tout à fait couramment en français (I see you are quite fluent in French), but I speak English too, so you don't need to speak in French," he replied, while he lifted his hand for a shake. He laughed with his companions after he finished. I didn't find anything funny about that moment.

Then he turned to Nick and said, "You're right when you said that your friend is smart, but is he strong enough?" Still laughing, tapping Nick's back and giving me the chills at the same time. I knew that he complimented me, but I didn't think it was nice to question a man's strength. Not that I was sure what he was referring to. 

     "Don't worry, Hunter might be clumsy sometimes, but he's reliable and strong," Nick replied, smiling at him.

     What the hell is happening here? What are they talking about? I know it's about me, but I didn't understand their conversation at all. I will question Nick later because I hate not knowing what's happening around me, especially if it's about me.

     "Why don't you take a seat then?" Benoît said, pointing at a vacant seat beside him.

Nick and I obeyed without question, not that I didn't mind standing because this guy was giving me the creeps, and my senses were screaming to get away from here.

     "Nick, is that the guy that made you VIP here?" whispering at him after we settled down.

     "It's a SE-CR-ET," Nick cryptically replied while smirking. This son of a b***h will die before we leave this club, I promised that.

     "Damn you, Nick. What the hell are we doing anyway, and what are you talking about earlier if I'm strong enough? Strong enough for what?" I said, glaring at him.

     "Chill out, dude. We're just joking around, and the question earlier is about if you're strong enough to take on this place because they're heavy drinkers, and you might pass out in a blink," Nick replied coolly.

     "I told you not to drink tonight, didn't I? So what the hell are we doing sitting around with these drunkards?” I said, putting a firm note into my voice. I felt that there was more to the explanation he gave me, but I let it go for now because there was a more pressing matter.

     "Yeah, yeah, I promise you that I won't get drunk. You sound more like a mom to me than my mother," he murmured, waving his hand at my face. There was a tinge of sadness in that last sentence, but it vanished quickly.

I just sat there and watched them, joining in sometimes when Benoît asked me questions. They were heavy drinkers, and I was surprised that they could still talk after drinking that many. Nick and I avoided drinking too much, even though Nick had his third beer in his hand, it was still manageable. I occasionally gulped mine so they wouldn't call me wussy, but I needed to be sober because between me and Nick, I was the one that needed to drive to get us home, and I didn't want to die because I was driving under the influence.

      "Hey! Benoît and I just need to talk for a moment, okay? So just sit tight there and relax," Nick said, pulling me out of my thoughts. Before I could even say a word, he and Benoît stood up and went to a room close to our booth, leaving me behind with the rest of the drunkards. Nick said to relax, but how the hell am I going to relax if everyone around me were like psychopathic thugs fresh from the mental. I sat there for about five to ten minutes until Nick and Benoît finally finished their little meeting. By the look on their faces, it didn't go very well. 

     What the hell did they talk about anyway? God, this is another Nick's mystery. One day, I'm gonna dig his treasure box and look for answers, but for now, I'm gonna let him be. 

     "Hunter, let's go!" he shouted, looking grim. Whatever it was they talked about; it put Nick into a nasty mood.

     What kind of important meeting in the club takes 5 to 10 minutes anyway?

Whatever. My head was already full of questions, and it was starting to ache now. So I stood up, and we started heading towards the entrance, but as I got close to it, a hand snaked around my elbow, making me look back.

     "You better watch out. Things are going to be far more complicated from now on." It was Rizza, the mystery girl that I was thinking about earlier. So I was right after all. My imagination didn't just create her.

"What hap---" I didn't get the chance to finish because she let go of my hand and joined the crowd. Damn, that girl makes me crazy.

     "Hunter, stop messing around. Let's go!" Nick shouted; his voice had an edge to it.

I walked towards him, and we left the club. I could feel the tension vibrating from Nick, and I didn't know what happened. I was still confused about what Rizza said before I left the crowd, and I was feeling like an i***t again because I didn't ask her last name or anything that would lead to her when I got the chance.

Well, I can figure out Rizza later. The one that I needed to pay attention to right now is the Big mad face that's laser beaming me with his eyes.

     "Here is the key, you drive," Nick said quickly, tossing the car key.

     "Nick, what the hell happened back there? You were quite cheerful before you entered the room, but after your little get together with that gorilla, you became so tense. You discussed how to conquer the world because you both sure took a lot of time with that meeting?" I asked before Nick got the chance to enter the car.

     "It's nothing. It's just that I'm applying for a job at that club, but he rejected me. He said that I'm too young for that kind of place," he said solemnly.

     "A job? Why the hell did you want to get a job? You're one of the world's wealthiest people, so you don't even need to work. Ever. Anyway, if you want a job, you can always go to other places. So many people will accept your pretty face, I'm sure," I joked.

     "That place is cool, and I will be able to meet many people while getting the experience. It's an amazing place, but I don't know if I will ever return to it again," Nick explained. He mumbled something that I didn't hear but didn't ask him what it was. He looked a little sad, and I thought he wanted to have a job at that place. But he still didn't answer why they took so long. 

     Is there something going on that I don't know? Guess there is, but it was none of my business, so I just let it slide again!

We got in, and I drove the whole way, not saying a word. I decided to come back to that place tomorrow to ask that gorilla to give Nick a shot, but the chance never came. Something unexpected happened that changed our lives forever that night. It changed me so much.

     Damn, I think I'm gonna die young for overthinking. I sighed.