Scheduled to leave on the 0620 flight to Stockholm, this time she packed light since it was a short run. Arriving at the coffee shop in the terminal, she orders breakfast a little earlier than usual, "Double soy latte and a cheese and chive scone please." Rachel says. Hoping that should tie her over until lunch in Sweden with the others. Taking a seat near the window of gate 16A, she spots a gentleman in the distance with a certain interest in her person. Without a sense of familiarity she feels strangely aroused and decides to sketch his silhouette on the backside of the paper bag her scone came in. He just stood there gazing, she would never forget the scarlet red silk that favored his fedora. Arriving in Stockholm 35 minutes after 0900hrs, covered in the stench of stale coffee she longed for a private facility to freshen up. The other girls were all headed for the hotel as Rachel staggered behind as usual. There was this one madam on the flight today that seemed to show a keen interest in her as well. Not sure if she was just shook-up from the fellow this morning or if there is something going that she should be aware of. Rachel, not being really close with any of the other girls yet since it had only been a few weeks, knew it were the time to bond with some of them. During lunch she suggested going out for a drink after dinner tonight, the girls thought it was a great idea and one even knew just the place. A private very exclusive place all the businessmen would stop in when on layover from Russia. The name of the place, Kontinuum, sounded nice to the ladies so they all went out after lunch to discover all the hidden gems of Stockholm. Rachel decided to do a little window shopping. Spotting a beautiful Bvlgari necklace, she decided she had to have it and only needed to work a few more months to buy it. Aside from the necklace she sees a perfect little black evening gown, strapless and even a slit to just above the knee. ‘Perfect for the night out' she thought, ‘why not buy it.' Back at the hotel the girls all decided to get ready together with a bottle of champagne brought up by a callboy that was quite pleasant on the eyes. Swedish with eyes of blue and hair of gold this chap was very dreamy and all the girls felt the need to express it. Rachel needed a good distraction from the strange activities of the morning. The ladies got the hotel service to take them over to the bar but when telling the driver, they were headed for конти́нуум (Kontinuum), he seemed far more interested in the ladies than moments before. With wandering eyes for half of the drive from the rearview mirror, Rachel felt the need to ask if he had heard of this venue before. Showing no interest in her words the driver's eyes stared straight at the road the rest of the way. Arriving at the venue bright white lights glowed with the letters, конти (KONTI). "I thought you said this place was called Kontinuum," one of the girls asked. "Just follow my lead," another girl responds with such confidence. They all walked around the side of the building to a much more exclusive entrance with a subtler cursive sign reading нуум (Nuum). Rachel was very intrigued by this twist to the night and decided to take a photo at the door, just then the doorman shouted in Russian, "No Foreigners!" Only one of the girls understood him and explained back that it was her sister's birthday and her friends are in town from France. Good thing most of the girls spoke French as they flirted their way into the bar. Once inside it was like you were entering a portal to another world. No one thought the place from the outside could be so open and futuristic. Everything sparkled like diamonds, even the drinks were glowing all sorts of beautiful colors like different potions. Everyone was in their own fantasy destination but the connection with everyone made everything so much more real, nothing could break the overwhelming feeling of presence within one another. Rachel finally felt connected, like this was all just a simple walk through the park.While approaching the abundance of beings from fingertips to her toes was like a track of little electrolytes increasing with each beat of the heart. The contact of one's skin to her own was like ecstasy, the dance of the devils in the air and fairies under her feet. One of the girls gestured from a distance for Rachel to come over to the terrace overlooking the dance floor, accompanied by its own personal bartender. After a couple hours of dancing and living the night away, the scramble to get all the girls back together was not an easy one. Rachel had reason to believe that something was not right about this place suddenly. She thought she had spotted the madam from the flight when they first arrived but figured it was just an image in her head. ‘The gentleman from the airport, maybe they were together.' She thought. She spotted the red scarf in a near distance exiting the dance floor wrapped around a woman's head. Rachel had to find out what was going on but then thought, ‘is that what they wanted her to do?' Either way she is determined to find out. As she moved down the hall to the facilities, she sees the scarf sweep the corner, through some swing doors and beyond the darkness of the dim lights that barely lit the corridor. Finally, she felt like she was making some progress just when she opened the door that brought her right back into the club. The woman had misled her, must have noticed she was following her. A hand grabbed Rachel's shoulder, "Hey!" It was one of the girls, "There you are, we we're looking all over for you." Everyone was gathered to return to the hotel. While waiting outside for the car, the clouds started to roll in from over the hills. None of the girls prepared for rain tomorrow, all Rachel brought were an old pair of Vans that had at least one or two tears in the canvas. Back at the hotel Rachel couldn't wait to get some sleep. It must've been 4 in the morning when they arrived so she made a decoction and sat by the window watching the rain pour like tears on the window. She dreamt of an old industrial lot looked to be abandoned for at least a decade or two. There was no telling where this lot was other than it was in the middle of the night and the sky was a nice royal blue. She must be closer to the North Pole, it was cold, and she could really see her breath. Good thing she had on a heavy parka and looking down at her boots, there was no snow, but everything seemed kind of icy and white. There hangs an old broken sign off a fence that reads 'опасность' in Russian. Rachel doesn't speak Russian but for some reason she could read it perfectly, DANGER. Entering a building the door was unhinged and looked charred black from smoke maybe from a fire. Not a thing in sight was identifiable, just a pile of burnt rubbish and an odor of decease. A horrible ringing noise began to ascend in her ears like a bell in her head, her eyes start to blur and legs numb as teeth. Darkness revealed and the ringing continued until a break of light from behind a crack in the wood. With warmth on her face leaving her body so cold and brittle. She opened her eyes, a white slate before her.