<div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c5/5f/68/c55f68f23ab0a6b441c164f67fd70a86.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Brett Roman (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341089.msg16149669#msg16149669)<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>Cream, long-sleeved dress shirt, satin wine-red waistcoat, tie, black dress pants and shoes.<br/><strong>Date/Time:</strong>Friday, 1 April 2050, Midnight.<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Dapper's Speakeasy, Downtown, Raven City<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Poppy<br/><strong>Content:</strong>Don't be a hero.<br/><hr/><div class="floatright">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/28/ac/fe/28acfe75521008a86f7f1f52303036b3.jpg)</div>Dapper’s Speakeasy was a retro-style bar located in the downtown of Raven City. It was popular with many of the college students, some who Brett had to frequently kick out. The day had been long, and he was glad that he paced himself with his hours. He worked three times a week, and there were some days where he wished he worked less, but college wasn’t going to pay itself.<br/><br/>It was midnight, and the crowd had been mature. He was able to make a few drinks, put in some orders for some burgers and fries, and just keep the counter clean and stocked. He usually had to throw people out on Friday nights.<br/><br/><em>Don’t jinx it,</em>he told himself. The night was good, and in two hours, it was going to be over. Unfortunately, the old clock on the wall read midnight, and the door to Dapper’s opened. Five, leather jacket-wearing bikers walked in, and Brett calmly turned his back. He busied himself at the back counter as he mentally cursed. Just his luck. Some scum like that would walk into the bar. He had only two hours left and this place would have been closed. He could hear them settling upon stools behind him. The lone red head who had been keeping to herself and enjoying a martini kept her eyes lowered to her glass. Brett hadn’t been bothering her. She had looked like she had had a lot on her mind. He only took her order and gave her what she requested.<br/><br/>Once he gathered some courage, Brett turned around to face the gang. Over their shoulders, he could see some customers trying to close their tab, pay for their meals, and leave. It was nerve-wracking. He hadn’t seen the emblems on their backs, but from the patrons’ reactions alone, he knew what it had to be.<br/><br/>“What can I get you gentlemen?” Brett asked, wearing his practiced and professional smile.<br/><br/><em>Yuengling, Jack &amp; Coke, Stella, Stella, Guinness…</em><br/><br/>“Coming up,” Brett said as he started working on the orders. If all he had to do was serve some drinks, then there was still hope. The Hounds probably weren’t as bad as everyone made them seem.<br/><br/>A hound wearing a navy-blue bandana turned his head to gaze upon the pretty red head he happened to sit next to. “Whatcha’ drinkin’?” he asked with a friendly smile.<br/><br/>The girl didn’t answer him. She kept her eyes cast down to her drink as she picked it up and sipped it. The hound’s smile faltered.<br/><br/>“You ignorin’ me girl?” he asked.<br/><br/>Lowering her glass, she answered without looking at him. “How do you figure?” she asked facetiously.<br/><br/><em>Please no…</em>Brett thought as he filled up a tall glass.<em>Just leave her alone…</em><br/><br/>“Well aren’tchu a rude bitch,” the hound growled.<br/><br/>The red head stood from her stool and said irritably to Brett, “I’ll pay you later.”<br/><br/>She briskly headed for the door. The hound watched her leave before he looked at Brett and said, “Hold onto my drink. I’ll be back.”<br/><br/>Brett then watched The Hound leave. That wasn’t good. The remaining hounds noticed he stopped making drinks.<br/><br/>“Excuse me,” Brett told The Hounds as he headed for the kitchen in the back. His boss, Mr. Dapper, was cleaning the kitchen when he approached him. “Sir, I gotta step out for a minute.”<br/><br/>Mr. Dapper was sanitizing a stainless-steel table. “Are you throwing someone out?”<br/><br/>“I just got to go to the bathroom for a while.”<br/><br/>Mr. Dapper stopped and gave Brett a disbelieving look. “I know you boy. What’s the problem?”<br/><br/>“We got hounds in the bar.”<br/><br/>“Jesus. Just let me call the cops.”<br/><br/>“There was a girl who offended one of them and left. The guy she offended followed her and I’m just worried, you know. I just want to make sure she’s all right.”<br/><br/>“Look, if she ain’t all right, then call the police. If the problem isn’t in my bar, then I don’t care. I’m not paying you to be a hero. I’m paying you to serve drinks and keep the riff-raff out, understand?”<br/><br/>Brett nodded with a sheepish smile. “Yes, sir. I’ll keep my distance.”<br/><br/>“Just go out the back so they don’t see you.”<br/><br/>“I’ll be right back!” Brett reassured his boss. He removed his black apron and headed out the backdoor.<br/><br/>Mr. Dapper sighed and casually headed to the front to man the bar. When he arrived, his dark brows rose to see no hounds anywhere. He saw the drinks Brett had made for them half-finished on the counter with no money. Scratching the back of his head, Mr. Dapper grumbled, “God damn it…”<br/><br/>Brett raced down the alley to the front of the restaurant to see the backs of The Hounds as they walked down the sidewalk. He noticed that they left their bikes parked out front. Wherever they were going must have been nearby. He followed behind them, maintaining a safe distance. They headed for the metro and Brett hoped the girl had managed to get away. He watched the bikers jump the gate. Brett didn’t see a guard on duty, and wondered if there had been one would he had done anything? He fished his metro card out of his pocket and zapped himself through the gate. He glanced at the street signs and wondered how would he know which direction she went? He didn’t see the bikers anymore. Had he lost them?<br/><br/>Brett decided to gaze down each of the staircases. He peered down the staircase of the first street and saw no one on the platform. When he walked over to the second street, his heart skipped when he saw the bandana-wearing biker returning. Their eyes locked as he ascended the steps and he gave Brett a fake grin that made his skin crawl.<br/><br/>“Ah bartender, what are you doing here?” the biker innocently asked.<br/><br/>Brett was at a loss for words. He heard the slam of the Men’s Bathroom swinging open and saw four other hounds walk out wearing smirks. Had he been set up? Brett started backing away from them toward the first street staircase. If they forced him into that bathroom, he was finished.<br/><br/>“Where are you going?” Bandana asked.<br/><br/>“He was following you Angelo,” one biker snitched.<br/><br/>“Following me? Why would he do that? Oh, you were worried about that girl werentcha’? She’s safe. She got on the fuckin' subway before I could get to her. Bein’ a hero sucks don’t it? And just what were you gonna do if you caught me with her, huh?”<br/><br/><em>Fuck this</em>, Brett thought. He had only one way to go, and it was down. He whirled and raced down the steps. The Hounds immediately followed practically bounding down the steps without fear of missing one. Brett ran the length of the platform, knowing that it would end soon. He figured once he neared the end, he could take a risk and cross to the other side; but as he drew closer to the dark tunnel, he noticed something was crawling out of it.<br/><br/><div class="floatright">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/f9/36/d9f9366a5663e94a1913dae2a0be3990.jpg)</div><br/>It had four, glowing green eyes and it resembled a giant python. Brett threw out his arms to stop his momentum. The Hounds raced up behind him and dug their mitts into the shoulders of his work uniform, when even they stopped. Based on the silence that surrounded him and how nobody moved a muscle, he felt only dread at the realization that he hadn’t been imagining it.<br/><br/>“What…the…fuck…” one of the bikers muttered in awe.<br/><br/>The creature’s glowing orbs shifted to them and its long, fork-like tongue extended from its mouth and lashed at the air. It had its eyes on them and Brett wasn’t about to be its next meal. He bolted in the opposite direction, wrenching himself free from The Hounds' grip. The other bikers started to follow his lead, turning to run as the creature hissed and darted out of the tunnel.