The rest of Jade's day at the bar dragged with agonizing slowness, each moment thick with a growing sense of anticipation. The clatter of glasses, the monotonous repetition of drink orders, the practiced smiles she offered patrons - the familiar rhythm of her work now felt like a muted soundtrack to the persistent question that gnawed at her: What was Dawn involved in, and why did she specifically need Jade? During every lull in the afternoon rush, Jade found herself unconsciously reaching for the folded paper in her pocket. The scribbled address a tangible enigma that pulsed with unanswered questions. Eight PM felt an eternity away.
When her shift finally ended, a nervous energy bubbled beneath Jade's carefully constructed indifference. Curiosity warred with a burgeoning excitement for the unknown. She'd grown increasingly restless in recent months, the predictability of her life a tightening knot she'd been afraid to fully acknowledge, even to herself. The prospect of change, however uncertain and potentially fraught with Dawn's drama, was a dangerous lure. But how could she possibly help Dawn with some mysterious, bug-ridden project?
Leaning over the polished surface of the bar, Jade caught her manager's eye. Keith, an ex-military man in his late fifties, had given her a chance when no one else would, and his unwavering faith had been rewarded. She'd quickly become one of his best employees, possessing an innate talent for reading people and understanding their needs. "See you later, Keith," Jade called out, a genuine smile finally breaking through the carefully constructed facade as she moved around the bar and headed for the door.
Outside, the familiar sight of her beloved navy blue Datsun 240Z with its bold orange racing stripes brought a small, genuine smile to Jade's face. Her pride and joy. She ran a familiar hand along the well-worn curve of the hood, a silent acknowledgment of the car that had been with her since she'd painstakingly saved every penny for it. She slid into the worn driver's seat, the familiar scent of old leather and gasoline comforting. She turned the key, and the engine rumbled to life, a deep, satisfying growl as she smoothly shifted into gear.
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A little while later, the imposing silhouette of the warehouse loomed before her under the fading light of the evening sky. Jade parked her car a safe distance away and got out, surveying her surroundings with a growing sense of unease. Nothing looked familiar in this forgotten corner of downtown. Pulling the crumpled paper from her pocket, she confirmed the hastily scribbled address. This was it. The building was an old, dilapidated warehouse tucked away like a forgotten secret. A faint, almost imperceptible hum of electricity emanated from within its shadowed walls, but nothing on the exterior suggested it was a place anyone would willingly enter.
The warehouse interior was a bizarre and unsettling fusion of the mundane and the arcane. Makeshift tables, cluttered with humming computer towers, displayed complex, glowing symbols that seemed both technological and strangely organic. A chaotic network of wires snaked across the dusty concrete floor, connecting to crystalline devices that pulsed with a soft, internal light. In the center of the vast room, a circle was meticulously drawn on the floor, not with paint, but with a shimmering, dust-like substance that glowed with an ethereal, internal luminescence. Dawn stood within the circle, wearing a bulky headset adorned with similar glowing symbols to those flickering on the computer screens. Two other figures, their faces obscured by deep shadow, stood silently flanking her.
Then, Dawn's gaze flickered towards Jade, a strange mix of finality and something that might have been regret in the depths of her green eyes. The low humming of the computers intensified, and the crystalline devices began to glow brighter, their light casting eerie, dancing shadows across the cavernous warehouse walls. The shimmering dust within the circle pulsed with increasing intensity, and a low, rhythmic chant, in a language that was utterly foreign to Jade, began to emanate from Dawn and two shadowy figures. A wave of profound disorientation washed over Jade, and she stumbled into the shimmering circles Dawn's lips forming words across the distance, "Good luck and Goodbye, big sister," before a blinding, incandescent light erupted from the center of the circle, and the world dissolved into a chaotic kaleidoscope of swirling, vibrant colors. Then nothing.
