Date: 07.06.1029 PNT // Friday
Time: 23:11 // 11:11 PM
Location: Ecosystem Mika // Habitat Melissa // District 7 // Sector 12 // Entricht Street 12

Like every Friday night, people from all over Habitat Melissa came here. The Time Machine. A nightclub – no – the nightclub in all of Habitat Melissa.

But like every Friday night, most of them would not get in. Hipsters in pretentious vintage baggy clothing from the early 2020s, tourists who were clearly displaced, yuppies trying to use daddy’s influence, thugs, social media influencers, and locals.

What they wanted was a night of dancing, drinking, and ecstasy. What they got was hours of standing and talking. Occasionally someone from the queue would leave to throw up, or someone got kicked out of the club, and another guy started arguing with the bouncer. But right now, absolutely nothing.

“You said Lua made sure we’d get in.” Ellis said.

“Yeah, she probably forgot about us.” Joel replied while pushing up his sleeves to look at his watch. A brand-new Dominique Dewit. “She probably met him, and her, and them, and they had a chat, and she just had to talk to them…”

“She didn’t forget about us.” Rey turned around and saw Joel with his new watch and the little glance he gave the blonde woman just passing by. “What time is it?” Rey asked with a little smirk.

Joel’s eyes shifted back to Rey. “It’s time we think about a backup plan.” He replied. “I am also not very keen on spending the evening with this bitch Vikka and her lapdogs.”

“Dude, what the fuck?” Rey slapped his arm. “You don’t know them well enough to be talking like that.”

“Oh, come on, man. You know it, too.” Joel turned to Ellis. “You agree, right?”

“I don’t know; I only really talk to Rosa, and she is nice.” He looked at Joel’s disappointed face. “The other two, I don’t know. Never really talk to them.”

“Rosa is nice, huh?” Joel said with a grin. “You barely talk to women, or any human… Your betrayal shall be forgiven.”

“Thank you.”

“So, how much have you been talking to her?” Rey asked, as she tiptoed towards Ellis with a little smile, showing her dimples.

“A little bit.”

“What have you been talking about?” Even closer now. Her eyes widening.

“You know, stuff.”

“What stuff?” Her nose touched his. Her dimples were gone, and so was her smile. Likewise, her eyes focused. “Go on.”

“Look, there is not much to talk about.” He let out a sigh, and his face turned to the ground. “Just a little bit of a back and forth about the usual stuff. Where did you grow up, do you have siblings, and so on.” He turned away, now looking at the door of the club. “We also went out for a coffee, well, a couple of those, and last time to a bar, but that’s about it. Man, where is Lua?”

“Nah, fuck Lua. Tell us more about the coffee and the bar.” Joel pulled Ellis by the shoulder and turned him back around.

“Really not much, just talking and walking through the park. And the last time we went to the 8ball and had some drinks, played pool.” He smiled. “It was fun; I think she had fun, too. But…” His smile went away. “I brought her home and everything, but nothing happened.” He pulled out his phone and stared at it.

“So what happened?” Rey kept interrogating.

Ellis hesitated. “Oh, another murder happened. Now, let’s all pay attention to that.” He held his phone against their faces. Joel moved it away with a serious face. Then Ellis finally mumbled something incoherent.

“What did you say?” Joel asked.

“I hugged her… and waved her goodbye.”

“Dude…” Joel slapped Ellis across the back of his head. “You are going to die alone.”

“Yeah, I know…”

“Don’t be so mean.” Rey said to Joel. “He will do it tonight. If he can’t, then yes, he will die alone.”

“Wait, is she coming?” Ellis asked. “She didn’t tell me.”

“I mean most likely. The only reason we get in is Lua and the only reason she gets in is Vikka. And Vikka loves to drag Rosa and Imilia around.” Joel replied. “Did Lua text you?” He asked Rey.

She opened her talk2mi messenger app and opened the chat with Lua. Who was online and texting. And then nothing. And then she was offline again. “Look, she was about to text something; she will probably be here soon. Let’s wait for another 15 minutes, and if she is not here by then we will go to Arkas Kebab. How about that?” Rey proposed. The others agreed. Another ten minutes passed.

Ellis suddenly got embraced by two arms. “Oh my god, where were you guys?” Lua came screaming. “I was about to send you a text, and then my phone just died.” The music of the club was loud, but her shrill voice was louder. “Then I had to find a way to charge my phone because without my phone no one gets in.” She kept going. “While I was looking for you, I saw Juliette and Marc. Those two were fighting as always.” She kept talking for at least five minutes. “Oh, and Yumiko gave me her power bank. Have you seen how many people are in this queue? How many groups I had to check? The stuff I do for you.”

“Please, shut up.” Rey said, harsh but lovingly, as she grabbed Lua by the shoulders.

“Lua, is Rosa there?” Ellis asked.

She laughed, “She is… She also told me about your date.” Lua paused for a second before putting on a cheeky grin. “Right now, she is talking to this guy, Maik. They are together in the lounge. He is kinda cute, not gonna lie.”

“Wait, who is Maik?” Ellis asked with obvious jealousy in his eyes.

“Fuck Maik; why do you always leave us waiting for so long?” Joel had a go at Lua.

“Hey, fuck you. You are lucky I am taking you with me. I am only doing it because Rey asked me to.” Lua said.

After another annoying back and forth between Joel and Lua they skipped the queue and went to the Entrance. Lua held her phone in front of the bouncer, and it showed a yellow light. “They are with me.” She said to him.

The clients who get inside each get a different type of ticket. Depending on what kind of ticket, there is a different color light. White light means box office, blue light is for fast lane tickets, red is for club members, green for staff, gold for VIPs, and of course purple for the real VIPs, like celebrities and politicians.

“Look, I can get you in, but not the others.” The bouncer said he was a man built like a bull, towering more than seven feet above the group.

“What do you mean? You know who I went in with, right?” Lua objected.

“No, I did not actually; I just started my shift.”

“Unbelievable, wait, let me make a call.” Lua called Vikka, who then called Reji, and he let the personnel know. They all pulled out their phones, the bouncer transferred their tickets, and a bright yellow light shone on their phones.

“Great, now everyone thinks I suck dick.” Joel complained.

“You can always fuck off if you want to.” Lua said. “Or, you know, just shut the fuck up.”

Inside it looked like an old temple. Glowing hieroglyphs illuminated the moss covered walls, floors, and the entrance. A river ran through it. The group sat on a boat and they started their voyage. On the other side it was bright and warm. An artificial sun and falcons in the sky. Storks striding along the river past the Date palms and Papyrus reeds, just enough to avoid the crocodiles. A cat closely watching the frogs, which were hiding around the lotus and water lilies. Just as they were about to exit a Hippopotamus appeared next to them. They landed in what looked like a bazaar. The river went through the entire floor, with bridges connecting everything. The group did not have a lot of time to appreciate all of it though, because Ellis was pushing them to go wherever Rosa was.

They walked through the hallway past at least one-hundred people right in front of the door to the VIP-lounge. Lua held her phone against the scanner and the door opened for them. Suddenly the music and noise from the rest of the club were shut off. Quiet electronic smooth jazz was playing. There was a stage with a holographic band, dimmed lights, red as the dawn, were creeping on the walls, floor and ceiling. Multiple areas with couches. On one of these was Rosa, with that guy Lua was talking about. Vikka and Imilia were next to them. Ellis walked straight towards her, and even though he tried to look as relaxed and cool as possible, he managed to hit his knee on the table.