The Nightmare Echoes - a short story

She pressed the lipstick to my neck and dragged it across my throat leaving a deep red slash from ear to ear. I have never had make-up on me before.

She took my hand and led me into the street. We passed a food truck where they sold candy floss. She demanded I buy her one. I bought her two. She took hers, bit off some and handed me mine. Before I could take a bite she yanked my hand away and I dropped it on the road.

Candy floss vanishes when wet. She tossed hers to the ground and pulled me to this strange building. The bouncer nodded at her and we went in. Lights and sirens beam through the hallway until you pass through a door and reach the dancefloor.

Men everywhere dressed like me. In a white shirt with a loose tie and black trousers. The women wore what they wanted. Only some of the men had a mark on their neck like mine. She took me to the bar and had me order a drink.

The bartender looked me up and down and winked at her. She winked back. The bartender looked me in the eye and held a pill to it, ‘you want this?’ I looked at her, she was so beautiful. I nodded. The bartender dropped the pill into my drink. She didn’t even take hers.

We were on the dancefloor and the music thumped through me, at times I forgot she was there still holding my hand. Light and colour streamed all over me. I think at one point I said something cringey like I feel like I’m in a technicolour orgy. I don’t think she heard me over the noise.

She wrapped herself around my arm and walked me off the dance floor. There was another set of doors with another smaller bouncer. The bouncer nodded and we went in. Here every man looked the same. We wore the same clothes and had the same lipstick slash.

I raised my hand to my neck to feel the make-up, as I smudged it she slapped my hand away. She grabbed me by the back of the head and kissed me hard. It wasn’t that nice. She let me go to breathe and all around me the men were being kissed just as forcefully.

She started to unbutton my shirt and I went to speak but I couldn’t. She pulled my tie so our eyes were level and gave me a hard stare. I felt…I don’t know what I felt. She pulled me by the tie to these curtains, once we were through everything went dark. The music stopped.

It was silent for a moment until I heard these clamping noises and hard thuds nearby. Suddenly I was shoved into this uncomfortable husk and felt the clamping thuds around me. I could not move. The lights came up but dim. I saw her for what she was.

I don’t like talking about that night. I can’t talk about it anymore. I’m sorry for what I did.