The Semicolon Club

             In the back alley of a New York City street, there was a staircase that led to nowhere; this staircase was where Nico called home. On one side of the opening was a chain-link fence, and on the other sat the dumpster for the best pizzeria in Brooklyn. As for the space itself, it was a humble six steps leading upwards to a small, empty alcove. But for a kid who aged out of the foster care system? It was prime real estate. Nico spent the first year of his adult life couch-surfing and bed-hopping, until he was finally kicked to the curb after a particularly bad night of drunken vandalism. When Nico found this alley, he originally shared the staircase with a man who called himself Pilot. He sent Nico on a cigarette run one night, but by the time he got back the old bastard was nowhere to be found.  

             That was a few months ago– it was raining just as hard that night as it was tonight. Nico sat shivering, his knees curled up to his chest to conserve body heat. The stairs protected from the rain, but did little for the cold and the wind. He fell asleep trying to remember the last night it had been this frigid, when suddenly he was kicked awake by a pair of high heels. Through bleary eyes, Nico looked up at two girls: one redhead, one blonde and both hot as hell.  

             “Move it, you’re blocking the stairs.” The redhead placed a manicured hand on her hip and raised her eyebrows expectantly. Nico got to his feet and stepped down into the alley, but froze next to the dumpster as he realized. Where there had been nothing a few hours earlier now stood a door. The only identifying mark was an infinity mirror in the shape of a semicolon above the door. A tall, stocky man stood next to it,  

             “How can I help you ladies tonight?” 

             “We’re here to see Jynn,” Nico overheard the blonde say. He figured Jynn was someone important, because the girls were let in right away. The next thing Nico knew, he was climbing the stairs like he was possessed. The bouncer looked him up and down and opened his mouth to tell Nico to beat it.  

             “I’m here to see Jynn,” Nico blurted.  

             “Sure you are. You think I’m stupid or something?” The bouncer crossed his arms, but Nico didn’t back down. Being a street urchin comes with a certain sort of bravado,  

             “Fine, tell him you turned me away. It’ll be your fault when I catch my death out here.”  

             The bouncer glared at him for a moment, but finally sighed and rolled his eyes. He held his hand out, stamped the inside of Nico’s wrist with a little red semicolon and sent him through the door. Immediately, Nico’s senses were overwhelmed by a nightclub in full swing. Red and gold neon lights lit up a sleek black dance floor that was filled with people. Synthesizer music was blasting with a beat so strong it seemed to vibrate Nico’s bones. A grin spread across his face– he had never felt so fucking alive.  

             Nico walked up to the bar, deciding to press his luck further. He flagged down the bartender and yelled over the music,  

             “I’ll take something strong and a little sweet.”  

             “All drinks are $20,” the bartender returned.  

             “I know Jynn, just put it on my tab.” 

             After a moment’s hesitation, the bartender nodded and started mixing a drink. Nico felt a thrill run through him. He had lied to the police plenty of times, but this was much more exciting. The next few hours was a blur of body heat, dancing with strangers and pounding back drinks that Nico lost count of on a tab he would never pay. He didn’t even remember how he ended up in a corner booth with Delilah, but he wasn’t complaining. She was wearing thigh high black leather boots with pointed toes, a fur coat that was just barely slipping off her shoulders and a sparkly little royal blue mini dress that fit like she had been born in it

             “You seem a little young to know Jynn sweetheart. But maybe his tastes have changed since I saw him last,” Nico barely registered the words with how she was purring in his ear.  

             “Lilah, lemme ask you something,” he slurred, “What is this place?”  

             She tucked a disheveled lock of hair behind Nico’s ear, thinking before she spoke, 

             “Jynn created The Semicolon Club before I met him. He said that the semicolon was the closest symbol to what he wanted to create– a connection between two independent but related clauses. That’s how we think of Heaven and Hell in conjunction with Earth, but I suppose that in your mind this place would be something like purgatory.” 

             Delilah turned his face down to hers, “Has he given you a taste of Heaven yet Nico?” 

             He shook his head. He thought she was going to kiss him, but instead Delilah took his hand in hers and stood up from the booth. She led him away from the lights and music,  

             “I can get you a room with the girl of your dreams Nico.” 

             Nico opened his mouth to argue that the two of them should spend the night together, but Delilah held a finger up to his lips. They finally stopped in front of a room– she had him put on a blindfold before gently pushing Nico inside and shutting the door. He expected hands on his body right away, but nothing happened. When the silence became uncomfortable, Nico pulled off the blindfold. Tonight as a whole had been very strange– Nico was willing and able to suspend his disbelief up until now. But nothing sobered him up faster than being in a nightclub one second and his foster parents’ kitchen the next.  

             “Nico, is that you sweetheart?” said a voice that was almost familiar.  

             He watched her walk into the kitchen. She was wearing a lemon yellow apron and a big smile. She put on oven mitts and took a tray of brownies out of the oven before coming over to hug him. Nico froze for a moment before stiffly returning the embrace. She smelled like lavender and honey– that was almost familiar too. Maybe it was the scent or the light in her eyes that made Nico remember the last time he saw her. When her eyes had dark circles under them and she was screaming at a social worker. She’d knelt down and took a much younger Nico’s face in her hands and promised she would be back for him. She never was– it wasn’t until years later that Nico learned she had been in a fatal car crash.  

             “Mom?”  

             His face crumpled as she nodded, hugging her tighter to his chest. Nico couldn’t remember the last time he cried, let alone the last time he cried so hard. Through his tears, he asked how any of this was possible. 

             “Your wildest dreams can become reality here. This place searches your heart for the thing you want most,” She wiped Nico’s tears away with her thumbs, “You’ve gotten so big sweetheart.” 

             He hiccupped something close to a laugh and covered her hands with his,  

             “I’ve missed you so much Mom. I’ve been the worst type of person these last few years… done a lot of things I’m not proud of.”  

             She smiled and shook her head, 

             “It’s okay Nico. I’ll always love you, no matter what.” 

             He didn’t get to enjoy her words for even a second– Nico was suddenly yanked out of the room by his shirt collar and slammed against the wall with a forearm to his throat. The bodyguard forced Nico’s hands behind his back and held them there. Nico coughed hard as he was made to face Delilah and a man taller than the both of them. The stranger was wearing a short-sleeved button up shirt with the top few buttons undone, black skinny jeans, dress shoes and a black leather jacket draped on his shoulders. He had a tattoo of a cobra going all the way from his neck to his right wrist that lit up from the black lights above them.  

             “I’m so sorry Jynn,” Delilah bit her lip apprehensively, “I thought-” 

             Jynn held up his hand to silence her,  

             “It’s alright Delilah. He’s a good liar, I can smell it on him.” 

             Jynn took a step forward and yanked Nico’s head back by his hair, 

             “I heard that you’ve been using my name to get your way all night. Where’s that confidence now?”  

             “I’m sorry,” Nico choked out, “I’ll pay you back for the liquor somehow, I swear-” 

             Nico hissed in pain when Jynn tugged sharply on his hair and hissed, 

             “I’m not worried about that. The fact that you lied through your teeth to get in here and drank for free all night are the least of my worries. You stole something far more valuable. People pay with their lives to see what you just saw.” 

             Nico tensed up badly. He felt a rush– a fear of death that he hadn’t felt in a long time.  

             “Oh, poor thing,” Jynn sneered, “He thinks I’m gonna kill him.”  

             Nico didn’t quite understand what he was hearing until he saw curved horns start to sprout out of Jynn’s head. He looked to Delilah for help, only to see the same thing happening to her.  

             “Usually when people steal from me, I have them spend some time in their own personal Hell. Now I just have to figure out yours. I could have you relive the day your mother gave you up? Or have you witness her car accident? Or maybe the worst punishment I could give you is throwing you back into the alley you crawled out of. If you want to avoid all that, you’re going to sign a soul contract.”  

             Nico flinched, his lips promising he would sign whatever it took– he had no choice. The bodyguard released his wrists, only to grab the one with the semicolon stamp and flip it upright. Nico watched as Jynn’s tattoo suddenly seemed to be melting, only to gasp when the snake rose out of Jynn’s palm. The cobra struck with precision, biting parallel to the stamp and injecting its venom into Nico’s wrist. The black venom shifted under his skin to form something that looked like an eye– it blinked when the venom finally settled.  

             “That’s your third eye, binding you to me for eternity. You can burn through your soul in a month or draw it out for a thousand years, doesn’t matter to me. When your soul finally does run out, that venom will kill you.” 

             Nico suppressed another flinch by gritting his teeth,  

            “Will it hurt?”  

            Jynn shook his head, almost sadly,  

             “Something I’ll never understand about humans. Out of everything you go through, death hurts the least.”