Page 7 of Railed By the Easter Bunny

Whatever the true reason, I secure the ribbons and go to that door.

There’s no handle, but when I press against that supple leather, it swings wide and I’m pulled inside by invisible hands that slam it shut behind me.

It takes a moment to get my bearings. My eyes need to adjust to the dark struck through with blue and purple neon.

What I see…

Couches filled with people lay in strange configurations. Bodies draped over one another, half of them look asleep. They exhale a heady smoke in long streams before lifting corded pipes to their lips. Others watch me intently, black eyes shining through that hazy veil.

They all wear masks like the one I was given.

I don’t know how many are here for the same reasons I am. I don’t know how many are even real.

Flickering from vibrant pink to neon blue and back again, a sign on the far wall reads: Babel.

It has a club vibe, and I expect there to be music, but there isn’t .

The silence is so loud—

“Hello, sweet thing.” A woman in a black cat mask slips her hand over my shoulder. “You look lost.”

“I may not know where I am… but this is definitely where I’m supposed to be.”

Her smile is so bright at my response, I’d swear her pupils strobe with hearts.

A giggle behind me makes me flinch. Another woman, this one in a white cat mask, drags her hand along my shoulders, walking with me, turning me, so she is always at my back. “This is where the mortal meets the immortal, the space where gods and those of us with expiration dates can coexist.”

She reaches up to draw a line over my mask’s ears. “You’re here for the Eeebie. How fun.”

“I think Jack’s been lonely for too long.” I don’t know which one says it as they circle me. “He’s going to like you.”

“What’s your name?”

“Lily.”

They both blink, looking at each other and then back to me. “As in Easter Lily?”

“Sure.” I don’t have a clue why my parents named me the way they did. And I’m distracted by the shadowy suggestion they both have tails.

“She always has a plan.” Snickering, they shake their heads and then link arms with me, one on each side.

“I’m Calico” says the one in black, “And she’s Minx.”

I don’t point out that of the three of us, I’m the one with the least ironic name.

Because they don’t give me the chance.

Leading the way through the various couches and strewn bodies, they take me on a wending path, chattering about this person and that. I don’t remember any of the others’ names.

I try to keep my bearings as they steer me round and round, and when they stop, it’s in front of a darkly curtained door.

“Whatever you do,” Calico says, leaning close, her lips brushing my ear. “Don’t take off the mask when you’re with him, or you’ll never be able to leave.”

She presses a kiss to the side of my jaw and steps back.

“And above all else, have fun.” Minx hand moves to the centre of my back, “Hopefully his his cock isn’t too terrifying.”

“What?”

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