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5 Days Later - Club Vértigo.
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The bass of the electronic music vibrated from the glass floor to the pit of the stomach, a constant beat that dictated the rhythm of the hundreds of bodies twisting on the dance floor. Club Vértigo was at its boiling point. Strobe lights sliced through the darkness in bursts of pink and blue neon, illuminating the artificial smoke that floated in an atmosphere saturated with expensive perfume, sweat, and alcohol.
In the center of the VIP area, surrounded by white leather sofas and glass tables crowded with bottles of alcohol that common people could not afford unless they wanted to unbalance a month's salary, was Alexander. Standing at one meter ninety, it was impossible for him to go unnoticed, even in a place designed for the rich and beautiful to compete for attention. His black hair fell casually, slightly messy, giving him an air of rebellion that contrasted with his dark silk shirt unbuttoned at the collar and the Swiss watch shining on his wrist. But what truly caught anyone who crossed paths with his gaze were his eyes—an intense, almost unnatural purple tone that, under the club lights, seemed to glow with an electricity of their own.
He didn't need to try; charisma radiated from him like the heat from a bonfire.
"So, are you telling me you really jumped off that cliff in Monaco, or are you just saying that to impress me?" asked a stunning blonde, leaning toward him. Her red dress left very little to the imagination, and her hand rested with far too much confidence on Alexander's thigh.
Alexander took a sip from his glass of whiskey with ice, letting a lazy and irresistible smile curve his lips. "If I told you, it would ruin the mystery, don't you think, Chloe?" he replied, his voice a soft baritone that managed to slip through the roar of the music. "Besides, I don't need to invent stories about cliffs to impress you. Your eyes have been telling me you've been impressed since you asked me for a light twenty minutes ago."
The blonde let out a nervous giggle, blushing, while her friend, a sharp-eyed brunette, rolled her eyes, though she couldn't hide the amused smile on her own face. Alexander knew exactly which keys to play. After several days of waiting, Arthur had finally transferred 346k EG, and he had come out to relax today; after all, starting tomorrow he would be busy buying supplies to take to the other world. He wanted to relax and let loose a bit, living the daily life of those sons of wealthy men who will never have a hard time unless their family goes bankrupt—and even if their family fails, they will have the connections to maintain a life without many complications. Right now, he wasn't looking for the love of his life nor a deep connection; he was looking for the hum of fun, the adrenaline of flirting, the game of hunter and prey where both knew the rules perfectly.
However, the game with Chloe and her friend stopped abruptly when Alexander's instinct was captured by a flash in the periphery of his vision.
About five meters away, leaning against the bar's luminous counter, was a woman who seemed out of place but at the same time dominated the entire room. Her hair was as white as snow, straight and cut in an asymmetrical bob style that brushed her jaw. She wore tight leather pants and a silver top that shimmered with the ceiling lasers. She had a relaxed posture, holding a martini with boredom, rejecting a guy in an expensive suit with a simple wave of her hand and a look that could freeze hell.
Alexander felt that spark of genuine interest. He excused himself from the two girls beside him with a promising wink and a cheap excuse they didn't mind, and made his way through the crowd. People instinctively moved out of his way; his height and his aura of relaxed authority did the work for him. He leaned on the bar right next to the white-haired woman, invading her personal space just enough to be noticed, but not enough to be a nuisance. He gestured to the bartender.
"Another whiskey for me, and whatever the ice queen is drinking, put it on my tab," Alexander said, without looking at her directly.
The white-haired woman turned her head slowly. Her cold gray eyes scanned him from head to toe. She paused for an extra second on his purple eyes, blinking slightly, but regained her composure instantly.
"The guy in the suit you just saw leaving with his tail between his legs offered to buy me the whole bottle," she said, with a raspy voice laden with sarcasm. "What makes you think a free drink is going to work with you?"
Alexander turned toward her, leaning his elbow on the bar and resting his chin in his hand. He looked at her—a long gaze over her entire body without worrying that she would catch him looking at her shamelessly. "Because I'm more handsome, of course. And because the guy in the suit was sweating desperation and was probably mentally reviewing his bank account statistics to impress you. Instead, I'm just paying the toll for the excuse to talk to the most interesting woman in this place. And... I'm not wearing a suit." Alexander replied with an easy smile as he leaned in slightly.
She let out a short, genuine laugh. The wall of ice cracked slightly. "Points for honesty," she conceded, taking the glass the bartender slid in front of her. "I'm Valeria. And I assume those eyes of yours are contacts to attract attention."
"Alexander. And I'm sorry to disappoint you, Val, but they are one hundred percent natural. A lucky genetic mutation, the doctors said. I prefer to think it's the universe making the distinction clear, even between species."
"You have an ego the size of this club, Alexander."
"And you have a defensive attitude that says you're bored of idiots, but you're still here; you don't always see anti-social girls in these places, and these places change them irreversibly." Alexander moved a bit closer, lowering his voice, forcing her to lean toward him to hear over the music.
Valeria stared at him. The tension between them was palpable, a static current that rivaled the electronic music. She was about to respond, a sharp retort already forming on her dark-red painted lips, when reality decided to intervene.
A few meters from them, a man who had had too much to drink roughly pushed a girl on the dance floor, spilling his drink on a giant who looked like a bodybuilder. The giant didn't hesitate; he spun on his heels and connected a right hook to the drunk's jaw. The sound of the blow was eclipsed by the bass, but the effect was not.
The drunk fell backward, crashing into a table full of bottles. Glass shattered. The drunk's friends jumped on the giant. In a matter of three seconds, an area of the dance floor turned into a pitched battle. Glasses flew, women's screams pierced the music that continued to play, and the club's security guards began to run from all directions, worsening the chaos by pushing people at random.
The mass of frightened people retreated like a wave, pushing Alexander and Valeria against the bar. A guy literally came flying in their direction, landing on his back on the marble bar a few centimeters from Val's arm, knocking over all the bottles and breaking the glasses. The white-haired woman swore, raising her arms to cover herself from the glass, but before she could worry, she felt a firm, warm hand grab her waist.
Alexander had not lost his smile. In fact, he seemed to find the situation incredibly entertaining. With a fluid movement and a strength that belied his relaxed posture, he pulled Valeria toward his chest, protecting her while a stool flew through the air and smashed into a mirror behind them.
"And this, my dear Val, is our signal from the universe to abandon ship," he said in her ear, his warm breath brushing against the girl's earlobe.
"You don't say!" Valeria shouted, though she couldn't help but smile at the sheer madness of the moment.
Alexander did not let go of her waist. He grabbed her hand with his, intertwining their fingers naturally, and began to navigate through the chaos. To Valeria's surprise, the man moved as if he knew exactly where the next blow was going to fall. He dodged a security guard, gently moved a terrified couple aside, and even had time to catch a bottle of vodka someone had thrown in mid-air, calmly setting it down on a terrified DJ's table.
They exited through one of the side emergency exits, pushing the heavy steel door that spat them directly into a back alley lit by the city's flashing lights.
The cold morning air hit them, a drastic contrast to the suffocating heat of the club. The muffled sound of the bass still throbbed through the brick walls, but the relative silence was overwhelming.
Alexander let go of Val's hand, leaning against the brick wall as he let out a loud, deep laugh. Valeria looked at him, her chest rising and falling from the adrenaline and the short run, and a second later, she also burst into laughter.
"Good heavens... That escalated from zero to one hundred in record time. The guy literally went through the bar," Val gasped, brushing a white strand of hair from her face.
"I have to admit it wasn't the way I planned to end our talk, but I'd venture to say it added a touch of excitement." Alexander adjusted his shirt collar, shaking a small piece of glass from his shoulder as if it were dust.
He looked at her under the yellow light of the lamppost. She looked even more attractive with her hair a bit messy and that wild smile on her lips. There was no trace of the ice queen left.
"Alright, Alexander. You're good, I'll admit that," she said, walking toward the alley exit, entering the main avenue which was still full of nighttime bustle. "Now what? Is the party over, or will you continue it somewhere else?"
Alexander walked by her side, putting his hands into the pockets of his designer pants. "There is one more destination; if you aren't bold, I don't recommend going. You might not be able to stand it and end up wanting to leave, though I wouldn't let you." Alexander spoke as they headed toward the VIP parking area.
"Oh, so you're going to kidnap me if I want to leave."
"Without hesitation," Valeria replied to him.
"You're a rare and interesting girl."
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N/A: The exchange rate for the EG currency is $60:1EG