The Lonely Heart Club

Leith Mitchell, was simply a regular, boring dude. At least that’s how he saw himself. Boring brown eyes, lifeless brown hair and no hopes of being anything more. Like most 30 something year old guys his age, he thought he would have accomplished more in his life by now. It’s hard to be “that guy” when you’re alone. You ever wonder what it’s like to be alone, not like for a few days, but forever? So alone that you’ve forgotten the smells that find your nose when walking past a bakery first thing in the morning. Or the sound of some determined businessman yelling at his phone as he switches back and forth between rideshare apps waiting for a black sedan with a methed out college kid to appear to take him to the office.

All of that seems like ancient history. As he walks the streets of a desolate city that once was full with the hustle and bustle of life, but it was now just overrun by abandoned, he feels more alone than he ever felt before. It all seems kind of pointless now. All those years spent slaving over his law degree to make his parents proud. He passed the bar, life was going to be great, he’d be able to take care of them. Expressing his gratitude to them in more ways then he would ever know. But that life, that path, it doesn’t really exist. It’s a joke now really, all the stress, blood and tears for nothing. There’s no one here. No cases to argue and no bills to pay. No gentlemen’s clubs to brag in. Just Leith alone with his thoughts.

Every now and then, he’d take these literal trips down memory lane. Waiting for some spark of something. This couldn’t be the end, could it?

He spotted a red sheet of paper stapled to a post. The design was simple, a heart with a keyhole in it’s center, with bold letters underneath that stated, “Will you join the cause?”. He stared at the paper, longingly. Confused a little because he made this walk many times before and never noticed the message. He snatched the paper from the wall, the moment he had it in his grasp, another, smaller line of text formed. An address.

He closed his eyes and the paper began to pull him north. He tagged along, like an unruly toddler being dragged through a grocery store. The paper led him to a pile of rubble, he vaguely remembered the place. A club that he was too lame to ever visit.

The paper led him here for a reason. He began to dig. He dug until he could feel heat, magnetism. It seemed as though only a few moments had passed before it happened. He stumbled upon a locket that was identical to the drawing on the paper.

A few days later while on another one of his walks he notices a building he never saw before with a huge sign, red neon heart with keyhole in the middle. As he walks the building, the locket starts to heat his pocket. Such a strange sensation, sensual even. He could feel the warmth throughout his whole body. But it was faint, he wanted more, he needed to feel more. He looked to the door for answers, it’s as if the locket was calling out to it. There was the urge for the two to connect and join as one.

Eventually he walks up to the door, as he goes to open it, the door swings open on it’s own.

It was a club full of people, lights and lasers. This was like before. Before it all happened. Before they all left. He was no longer alone. He didn’t know where these people came from, but to be honest, he didn’t really care.

Dancing at a club and it seems to go all night. The lights from the stage made the room appear to be a bright green. The room was wall-to-wall bodies, the smell of sweat was in the air. He missed this. Yes, it was kind of gross, but it reminded him of home. No matter how hard he looked, he was unable to see any of their faces. A wispy girl with white hair walks up to him, she takes her necklace/locket and places it around his neck. At that time he felt the heat leave his pocket and travel to his chest. They continue to dance until all the people around them start to disappear. It’s the two of them, staring into each other’s eyes, all the lights fade away. They disappear.

There’s a loud noise, amber alert like. He opens his eyes to find that he is strapped to a bed. He was in an arena of some sort. The type of place people went to watch sports games. There are beds all around him, occupied by others who are also strapped down. A voice on a loudspeaker barks out orders. “Do not move. It is not safe outside. We are here to help you”. Leith’s scared, confused, and has no idea what happened to him. He rips off the restraints. Security comes up, big men dressed head-to-toe in military garb with big guns. They try to push his back down, but he fights them off.

He starts to ask around, “What’s going on?”. But no one seems to hear him, or at least they don’t care to answer.

A woman walks up to him, it’s the same girl as before. The men quickly darted in different directions. It was a sight to see, such large bulky men scared away by someone with such a small frame. The girl, the one with the locket, the beauty he met beneath the lasers was here in front of him, again. Only, there was something off about her, she seemed older. She opened her mouth to speak, it seemed as though she was in pain. Her face was covered in scars. The more he looked her over and took it all in, he realized she seemed to be afraid of him. A small voice leaked out, “You really don’t remember”. At that point, she handed him the locket and walked away.

He called for her to stay, she disappeared in thin air. Only then did he take a moment to look over the locket in his hands. There was a weird glow about it. Definitely a familiarity, but he had no idea what she was referring to. He closed his eyes in an attempt to draft up some sort of memory only to come up with nothing. It’s as if someone or something had completely wiped his brain. But instead of fear, he felt a sense of calmness. Maybe not remembering what happened was a good thing? The comfort of the unknown was better than the surety of something much worse.

The warmth of the locket began to feel more like a burning sensation. He dropped it. The sound of the metal hitting the concrete seemed to radiate throughout the entire arena. All eyes were on Leith. He bent over, grasping at the gold chain. He couldn’t seem to grab ahold. Such a tease. And then, he heard the voice of a small child, “Open me Leith”. He shook his head in confusion. Was he going crazy? Was this thing really calling his name?

“Me?” Leith questioned softly. He glanced around, in hopes that all the inquiring minds didn’t hear him talk to an inanimate object.

She, the locket, whispered back to him, “It’s time my love, the moment is here”.

He reached for the locket again, this time, instead of inching away, the locket jumped into his hand. Without hesitation he opened it. There was a loud screech followed by the brightest of lights. The arena was filled with the sounds of scurrying feet, terrified screams and anxious cries.

Leith closed his eyes and stood still. The noises reminded him of those days. The sounds of home.

There was silence and then nothing. Was he alone? Again? He opened his eyes. Bodies. There were bodies everywhere, this time lying on the ground. Eyes frozen in fear. He made his way through, tip toeing over fingers and bare toes.

As he made his way to the entrance, he started to feel the warmth again, this time in his chest. Tilting his head up, he expected to see another glowing red heart with a keyhole above the door. But the space where this light should be was empty. If that was the case? Where was this feeling coming from? He placed his hand on his chest feeling for the locket. Instead of gold, he touched what felt like molten lava, he looked down. There was a glowing red key engraved where his heart should be.

At that moment, he heard the child’s voice once again, “Disruption Complete”.