Far away in Philadelphia, Kasaan was in his dorm room on his computer, flicking through pages and books.
"Are you all set with your investigation, Kasaan?" said the boy behind him on his bed groggily. The dorms had two beds in each room.
"Yeah, Kyle. I'm sure this string of missing people is demonic or witchcraft at least. I almost have all my evidence together. Then I'll submit it to Professor Stevenson, and we will be able to go in ourselves and crack this case."
Kyle jumped out of his bed enthusiastically. "Our first crackdown. Bad boys, bad boys, what you gonna do, what you gonna do when we come for you?" he joked. Kyle was a tall boy, white-skinned with brown eyes and hair.
Kyle was always goofy and in a good mood. Kasaan enjoyed his company, always lighting the mood. Kyle walked up and grabbed some of the papers Kasaan had laying everywhere.
"I noticed these disappearances date back all the way to the 1700s," Kyle pointed out.
"First case was July 11th, 1700. Sarah Penn," Kasaan interjected. "She was actually a distant cousin of William Penn. That year, six more people disappeared as well."
"And every six years since then, seven people disappear. Last being seen around the same location for over one hundred years," Kyle was piecing together the evidence.
"We have to hurry and get this information to the professor," Kasaan chimed in. "The third person was reported missing last night. We gotta get on the ground and investigate to save four more people. They need us."
"Let's go investigate now," Kyle suggested. "Why are we waiting when there are lives at stake? You're really on to something here, and it's Friday night. No class till Monday."
"You did just wake up, taking a midday nap. Something tells me you knew we were doing this," Kasaan beamed. "So all of our victims have been last spotted at Sound Garden."
"Subtronics is playing tonight!" Kyle exclaimed, shoving his phone in Kasaan's face, showing him the post on the Sound Garden page.
"Who is that?" Kasaan asked, dumbfounded.
"You never been to a rave before?" Kyle questioned. "You're going to love it. It's where I go to escape reality. The music, the PLUR, everything."
"The PLUR .?" Kasaan asked, confused. "Never mind, how are we going to get in? It's an 18 and up club."
"I'll handle it. You just get ready," Kyle assured as he left the room.
Kasaan proceeded to put on an all-black getup and grabbed two black writing pens, placing them in slits near his pockets for easy access. Then he put on black gloves with the fingers cut out. He had an armor black bodysuit with a long black trench coat. He finished it off with black shades. He checked himself out in the mirror.
...
As they arrived to Christopher Columbus Blvd, they could already hear the music. The street was full of people dressed up to get in. The line stretched all the way down the street. People were dressed in all sorts of outfits. A lot of people wore all black with eyeliner, giving an emo look. There were also people wearing bright, colorful clothes. There was a lot of skin showing, on both the girls and guys. Girls wore tapestries over their chest with no shirts, just straps and chokers, with bottoms varying from skirts to swim bottoms. There was even a girl walking a guy on a leash. The sight caught Kasaan off guard. As a 15-year-old boy, he had never been to the club scene. His eyes were everywhere as his temperature began to rise.
"Hey handsome," a lady greeted Kasaan as she was walking by. She had green eyes. Her ears were pointed and she had beautiful green transparent wings, with vibrant red hair.
Kasaan gasped, looking at what he thought was a fairy. "Relax," Kyle calmed Kasaan. "Girls dress up like that at raves all the time. Even if she is a real fairy, she would blend in at a rave, so supernatural beings frequently go to raves. It's where they can hide in plain sight. Plus it's good music," he said as he began headbanging along with a lot of the line outside.
"How do you know all this?" Kasaan questioned, curious how Kyle knew so much about a scene they were too young to be involved in.
"I've been raving since diapers, bro," Kyle informed him.
They finally reached the front of the line and security patted them down thoroughly.
"IDs," the big bald man asked.
Kasaan looked at Kyle nervously, knowing they were 15 and had no IDs. Kyle reached in his pocket and pulled out an ID that had the picture of a boy with glasses that wasn't him. It was a Hawaii ID with the name McLOVIN on it. "Here you go," Kyle smiled.
The security guard instantly fell into hysterical laughter. "Y'all are good," he managed to say through tears as he let them in.
Kasaan was shocked, not knowing how that got them in, but was grateful nonetheless. Inside the club was a mix of loud music, dancing people, and lights. The lasers were amazing to Kasaan, as he had never been to a concert or anything like this. They walked to the bar and one of the bartenders jumped over the counter shouting, "Kyle!" as she embraced him tightly.
"Shirin!" he screamed back with joy. Then the woman proceeded to hold the peace sign in the air with her fingers. The gesture was a little weird to Kasaan. Then he watched as Kyle threw up the peace sign too and touched their fingertips together. Then the peace sign changed to half hearts with their hands together, making a full heart. Then they embraced, hands interlocking their fingers. She grabbed one of the crafted beaded bracelets off her arm and transferred it to Kyle's arm while their hands were connected. Then they hugged again.
"What was that?" Kasaan asked, confused.
"Who is your friend, Kyle?" she asked. "Have you ever been to a rave before?"
"This is my main man, Kasaan," he introduced. "And no, he has never been to a rave."
"What?" Shirin said, as well as a few people near them. All four of the strangers and Shirin surrounded Kasaan, introducing themselves and proceeding to teach him the hand signs and how to trade bracelets. They taught him it's called PLUR., and the bracelets are called kandi. They all hugged Kasaan and said they would see him in the crowd before they parted ways.
"Wow, that was cool," Kasaan said as he started to loosen up. "So how do you two know each other?" he asked Shirin.
"Let's just say he saved me a while back," Shirin answered, looking off as if she was remembering a distant memory. "Y'all want something to drink?" She went back behind the counter and passed them drinks. "Here."
Kyle immediately threw the drink down the hatch. While Kasaan sneakily threw it over his back. "First round on me," she smiled. "Russo is in VIP. I'm sure he will let y'all in. Have fun, boys." She bid them farewell so she could get back to work.