I’m a 24-year-old guy, I love to party and I go to a lot of nightclubs. The city I live in has a pretty bustling night scene and there are tons of clubs to go to and things to do late at night. I heard there was a new nightclub that had just opened up just a few minutes from me and I kept hearing people talking about how awesome it was so tonight I decided I would check it out.

“The Cosmic Owl”, I thought it was an odd name for a nightclub but supposedly it was this new hotspot for nightlife. Anyways, I parked my car and walked over to the line to get in. As I had expected there was definitely going to be a wait. After about 20 minutes I was finally at the front. The bouncer checked my ID and took the admission money before giving me a nod and opening the door for me. I stepped into the club, immediately bombarded with loud rave music and flashing lights. There was a pretty large crowd on the dance floor, going crazier than I’d ever seen. Everyone was dancing as if their lives depended on it.

I walked over to the bar and ordered a shot of whiskey. I felt a hand on my shoulder, I pivoted to see a familiar face. It was Donny, this dude I knew from a few of the other clubs in the area. Now we weren’t very close but we were on good terms, he could be pretty cool and was a fun guy to hang out with.

“Yo man, you’ll never believe this,” He said, pulling me away from the bar. “You gotta try this new shit, it’s the bomb… Seriously it’s like nothing you’ve ever tried before, best high I’ve ever felt.”

He handed me a mini Ziploc bag with a single pill inside. It was neon yellow and had a single symbol inscribed, I had never seen it before and couldn’t discern what it was.

“Alright Donny, thanks.” He laughed, punching me in the shoulder jokingly before walking outside. He normally wouldn’t leave this early, that was strange, but I shrugged it off. I went back to the bar and just sat for a few minutes, for some reason I didn’t really feel like dancing or trying to socialize. I was always super high energy these nights but wasn’t really feeling it tonight. I walked to the bathroom for some semblance of quiet for a minute. There were two guys snorting a line of coke off of the bathroom counter, they finished up quickly and then left.

I splashed myself with water and looked in the mirror briefly.

Fuck it.

I might as well enjoy tonight rather than keep moping around, I dug into my pocket and pulled out the yellow pill. I popped it in my mouth and swallowed. I don’t know what I expected but nothing changed at first. I walked out of the bathroom and then that’s when it hit me, things seemed to be moving a lot faster than before, almost like I was in a time-lapse. It was weirdly irregular and would speed up and slow down at seemingly random intervals. I walked to the center of the room and started dancing with the crowd there. I was getting into it and actually having a pretty good time. That’s when the pill really started kicking in. All my surroundings started warping haphazardly, I got really dizzy and awkwardly made my way over to a table and sat down.

Holy shit, what’s happening to me?

I just sat at the table and rode out the really nauseous feeling that came with the bending of my vision. After what felt like an eternity, everything returned to normal, or at least so I thought. That’s when I noticed them. It’s hard to describe what they look like. There were these creatures mixed in with all of the people around the nightclub. No one else seemed to notice them at all. They were these freakishly tall dark figures with tendrils in place of their limbs. They had no facial detail except for ever-gaping empty eyes. I saw them everywhere I looked, completely motionless, yet all facing toward me… watching silently.

I tried to get up and leave but my feet felt like they were melded into the floor. No matter how hard I tried to stand up, my legs would not budge an inch. I figured whatever pill I took would run out soon enough so I tried to fall asleep and hoped everything would be gone when I woke up. Surprisingly, I actually managed to fall asleep quite easily. I awoke and rocketed upright. Looking around, everyone was gone and the room was achingly noiseless. It was dark but as soon as my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I noticed something terrifying.

The creatures from before were still all around, but now they were moving. They were unnervingly shuffling toward me from all directions. I tried to get up, to run as fast as I could from this place, but now my entire body was restrained. I was completely unable to move a muscle in my body. The creatures surrounded me fully and they all moved to be mere inches from my face. This was when they spoke to me for the first time. They didn’t speak with words, but rather directly to my mind.

Dance…Dance…DANCE

I was confused. What? Dance? Suddenly I was back in the nightclub, everyone was back and everything seemed to be how it was earlier. I sighed a breath of relief and actually let out a chuckle, what a weird trip, I’m definitely never doing that shit again. I stood up and decided I was going home, suddenly a searing wave of pain exploded from everywhere in my body all at once.

DANCE

A constant wave of pain forced me to the dance floor. As soon as I started dancing the pain started to reprieve. The harder I danced the less I felt, I began to throw my limbs as hard as I could and the pain went away entirely. If I slowed down the pain would start to creep back. Everyone around me was whirling and flailing in the most exaggerated manner. I tried to talk to the other people there but they would just look away and keep dancing. It was like they weren’t able to communicate anymore.

I continued to dance for hours and hours, I never seemed to get physically tired and couldn’t stop, and yet my mind eventually ran out of things to think about. I started to dissociate and my mind emptied, I was watching myself and all the others dancing from above, like I was floating detached from reality. I don’t really know how long this lasted, it could have been hours or even days at this point. Gradually, I started to come back to myself, I realized what was happening. I wanted to be free, I hated what was happening. I was filled with disgust and with a sudden burst of bravery, I stopped dancing and ran for the exit door.

I made it 3 maybe 4 strides before I collapsed to the ground. Agony erupted throughout me. I crawled toward the door with all the strength left in my body, my arms and legs were giving out, and eventually, the pain took over. I could no longer crawl and all I could do was writhe in pain. Suddenly, one of the creatures from before appeared in front of me. It lowered itself closer to me and it spoke.

Dance?

*“*LET ME OUT!! Please just let me leave this place…”

Its eyes bored into me for an uncomfortably long period of time. It lifted a single tendril and handed me a small Ziploc bag with a single yellow pill. The pain lowered to a manageable level. The creature said nothing and yet I fully understood what I had to do. If they couldn’t have me, they wanted another. I looked around for someone and then I saw them. It was a man sitting in the corner of the bar alone.

“Hey man, you gotta try this new stuff. You’ll be on the dance floor having a ball in no time.” I said, passing him the pill.

The guy looked at me and grabbed it, he immediately took the pill and then turned away from me. Immediately a wave of relief came over me and all the pain dissipated. I looked back at the creature and it gave me a single nod. I walked out of the nightclub into the cold fresh air, with a newfound appreciation of life.

I felt bad for giving the pill to an unsuspecting person but it was the only way out, and maybe he could find his way out like me. I checked my phone and it was 3 am… it was a whole WEEK after the night I first entered the club. I don’t think I’m gonna be going nightclubbing anytime soon, and I’m definitely not taking any strange pills. I hope those other people are able to make it out, but I’m certainly never stepping foot in that evil place ever again.