Loud incoherent music roared in the background as underdressed teens partied like their lives depended on it.
Yells of senseless pleasure and vulgar dances by the pool were in full swing. The indoor swimming pool was packed with the sweaty energetic bodies of both males and females.
As the party raged on fifteen similarly aged teens in the next room clicked away on their devices, unbothered by the animalistic behaviour of their neighbours.
The room was dark, the only illumination being the light from the screens.
The projector situated infront of their personal desks came to life, and like a switch, each of them stopped their activities to give attention to the display.
A boy with black hair and soft blue eyes stood up, his every step was confident despite being a year younger than the rest of his team.
On the projector screen, an orc dressed in rags scratched a scar on his head continuously.
Marcus pointed to the screen,
"Considering we have finished everything required for release before schedule, we will get beta testers for feedback be-"
Marcus could not complete his statement as his seated companions suddenly turned to particles while illumination by a golden light.
His eyes went wide. After rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, Marcus slapped his face in astonishment.
He staggered to their seats and felt the chairs and computers.
They felt real.
But considering his job was to make the fictional realistic, he didn't buy it.
He tapped his ear twice.
"Activate log out sequence."
It didn't work and he was starting to panic. He repeated the phrase a few times, but he came to understand it was futile.
He dashed out of the soundproof room and the scene of broken glass, spilled drinks, underwear and various clothing on the floor only confused him even more.
He tapped his watch thrice, a sequence to call his sister. Before the watch could even ring once, black chains shot out from the ground wrapping around Marcus' legs.
His already confused look became even more dazed as his pupils dilated.
"Am I on drugs?" Was all he could say before a scream erupted as he was dragged into the Earth.
°°°
"Boss, we lost connection to his tracker."
"His last known location?" A hint of annoyance was clear in her tone, though her face remained impassive.
" Denver club, boss, an expensive pool club for elite youths; everyone who registered in yesterday night has tracelessly vanished. The appearance of the blinding golden beam was the only sign of their departure. Countless public departments and officials worldwide are looking into these unpredictable occurrences."
"I'll need all possible and impossible information on these 'unpredictable occurrences'. Focus on getting details about Marcus' case, I need them now." Alex paused, staring deep into her assistant's eyes, she spoke," Delilah, how many among those declared missing have been recovered?"
Large drops of sweat rolled down the trembling assistant's face, as she examined the marble tiles. There was no good answer.
" Zero, boss." A daunting thick silence, which simmered with tension, passed between them. For Delilah, the silence was suffocating, and she wished for darkness to swallow her whole.
"Get my keys, the motorbike keys. The information must be sent to my watch before I reach the club." She watched as her subordinate fled the room. She was propping herself off the exquisite woolen sofa. She stood, a blazing wrath threatening to consume her entirely. Then, with a short sigh, all her anger and rage dissipated, leaving only determination in its wake.
Alexandra ambled towards the pristine white door. Her hand reached the handle and stained the milky door knob with a crimson substance. Alex hung her head low.
"What kind of birthday surprise is this?
°°°
She parked at the side of an inconspicuous alleyway. Her vehicle was programmed to recognize her specific key radiation, a central cubical key that worked for all her inter-tech devices and contained some of her extracted DNA. She pulled off the sleek silver helmet and got off the white motorbike. Her diligently maintained onyx hair rolled unto her shoulders.
Soon after, she approached a recalcitrant crowd, a medley of reporters, well dressed men, women, children, and a few elders, created chaos, behind human barricades comprised of policemen.
This did not bother her though, she called for the man in front of her to excuse her, which led to an almost instantaneous chain reaction. People were shoving fiercely, even more than before, to get out of her way. The few who looked reluctant and displeased, stepped aside subtly when they saw her face. No one spoke, not even the raucous interviewers: they all valued their lives.
The officer in charge left the club and came to face her. His scorn was proudly etched on his middle-aged features.
"To what do we owe the pleasure, our pride and joy? The youngest CEO in history and an American! Although, not by birth." He snickered at the end.
A bulky man in his mid-thirties, probably a firm believer of justice, something he knew she did not represent. His men beside him were a different story altogether, as some had already begun to quiver, petrified by their Captain's stupidity.
"Access to the crime scene." The girl was blunt.
" You think you can strut into an International crime scene? An eighteen-year-old girl who thinks she owns the world."
Inspector Jeffrey scoffed. This country needed a thorough reset, and he would start with her. Unfortunately, his plans would be temporarily delayed, as Alex placed her hand on his wrist and then sharply twisted the man's arm. He immediately fell unconscious and Alexandra moved on, to the place of her brother's disappearance.
Naturally, the other officers stayed in formation, only closing the gap after she had passed. A subordinate collected his fallen boss, paying no heed to the murmuring onlookers.
The grandeur of the modern elitist hangout was unperturbed by the chaos it had witnessed. A reception adorned with a golden chandelier was situated directly above a clandestine desk. Once a hub of interactions between fanciful employees and willful youths, now an empty husk. Alexandra observed her surroundings keenly, her astute mind seeming to formulate and discard possibilities by the second.
After 3 minutes of silence, Alex removed a cross-shaped earring from her right ear and then pressed her left thumb on it. With a faint hum of acceptance, the device began to glow a radiant lavender hue, which expanded and subsequently, enveloped every inch of the room. Five more minutes of waiting was followed by a short ring of another device, located somewhere in Alex's pocket.
She proceeded past the reception and visited every area. All security locks had been disabled after the building was declared an international crime scene, therefore she could easily access all the areas. The security footage had already been wiped from the system's database. Previously, using the information her assistant acquired, she had memorized the layout of the building and gone through the security footage hours before and after her brother's disappearance.
She was looking for something more. Any hint that a human had orchestrated this farce and had fooled them all. Alas, even after visually scrutinizing the entire building, she had not gleaned any information that differed from what she already knew.
A sigh escaped her lips. She navigated past the tense crowd, mounted her motorbike and sped off.