I head that way, glancing at my phone every few steps. To the left is an incline, and I can’t tell what’s beyond it. But it looks like I’ll just be calling another cab. Enough to have got me into Olympus and then the cab fare back to my apartment. My clutch is just large enough to accommodate it, my ID, and some cash. Meanwhile, the people inside get to enjoy… whatever it is that happens in there. But they didn’t say much more, and I got the sense that it was supposed to be a secret.Īnd now I’m alone, in an ill-fitting black dress and uncomfortable gold mask, surrounded by parked cars. And the way everyone dresses up to attend. When I tentatively asked them, they mentioned the masks. The girls who live in the apartment next to mine were talking about it. I’d heard rumors of it-well, not really rumors. So much for my grand plan of seeing what Olympus is all about. I take the marble steps down to the grass and sigh. He chuckles to himself and turns, disappearing around the side of the building. And I’m suddenly aware that we’re alone out here-this strange man and me. I try to hold his gaze, but I’d rather do anything but. Behind the holes of his mask, his eyes drill into mine. He saunters forward, revealing himself in the moonlight. You know what an average person can do in five minutes?” He stubs out the cigarette and straightens. I can barely make it out in the darkness. And it’s at least twelve feet tall and carved in intricate patterns that all seem to interlock. The door I stand in front of doesn’t have a knob, which is peculiar. It feels like it was transported directly out of ancient Greece. I’ve never seen a place like this before. He leans against one of the huge marble columns that make up the front side of the building. The flash of embers falling draws my gaze, but the grotesque mask keeps it. “You’re late.” A man with a boar mask flicks his cigarette. Thank you for joining me! If you are unfamiliar with my work, fair warning: my stories run dark (violence, explicit content, etc.).

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Rebel by S. Massery