After reading that note left back at the air bnb I head back to the bar, just in shock that my best friends would just leave me like that. I finally arrive and head inside and take a seat at the bar, just putting my head down until feel a hand on my back. I look up and it's Alora
"You good?"
"They fucking left me"
"Wow… nice friends you got there"
"I'm so fucked"
"You'll be ok"
"Oh yeah…. HOW?!?!"
"Because you got me to protect you"
"Lord help me.."
"Just trust me, I mean that werewolf was scared of me for a reason"
"I guess"
"You could use a drink"
She calls over Lou and starts ordering a drink
"How about that special drink Lou"
"Uhhhh I don't think he's ready for that"
"Come on he's got to try it sooner or later"
I look up with a confused look
"What drink is this?"
Alora looks at me
"Oh it's pretty good, it'll relax you"
I look towards Lou
"Is it good?"
"Sure."
"Alright I'll take it"
"Oooook"
Lou heads to the back and comes back a few minutes later with a purple colored drink that has some type of edible glitter it looks like
"Here you go"
"Thanks Lou, this looks… interesting"
I take a drink and to my surprise it's pretty good
"Ayoo this is fire, what's in it?"
"It's a secret recipe"
"Man this is good!"
I drink it down pretty quickly and look to Alora
"You were right I feel more relaxed, like a weight is off my shoulders even with everything going on"
She smiles at me
"Good, just chill and relax"
After a few minutes I start to feel a little weird and look at Alora
"Ughhh what was in that drink?"
"Oh I don't know it's Lou's secret, ask him"
"Hey Lou what's in this drink?"
Lou voice comes from behind the bar
"I can't tell you that my boy, but how do you feel?"
"Uhhh I can't really explain it, like everything is all…"
Before I can finish my sentence I see Lou come from the back and he doesn't look the same as he once did, he's not human, he's a green orc looking creature
"What the fuck!!!"
Lou looks at me with a smirk
"Oh yeah it's finally kicked in"
"What the hell do you mean?!?"
I look around and all the patrons that were once human are now transformed into different creatures
"Oh fuck no…."
Everything goes black, soon I hear the faint voice of Alora
"Jaaaay…. Hellllloooooo??"
I open my eyes and my vision starts to clear up
"Awww there you are, you ok?"
"Ehhhh man I think that drink fucked me up, I thought I was seeing shit"
Lou then pops his head over the bar
"Yeah crazy right"
"Oh fuck it was real!!"
Alora grabs my face
"Relax, you're not in any danger"
Lou starts laughing
"Yeah if anything you're in the safest place you can be right now"
I look around and take in everything before looking back at Lou and Alora
"What did I drink?"
"Well I made you a drink that would show you the 'dark side' of New Orleans. We disguise ourselves as normal looking humans but only a special select few can see our true identity, or in this case you drank the potion that gives you the ability to see us as well"
"I can see that, what are you?"
"Well I'm an orc obviously, I opened this bar years ago for outcasts like myself."
"Outcasts? I thought you would fit in with all the weird shit here"
"Unfortunately not, unless you're part of the covens you are an outsider like everyone else. This bar gives those outsiders a sanctuary"
"Well that's kinda nice. What are the covens though?"
"Well you have the vampires, they're all stuck up and look down on everyone"
"So they're like the entitled rich people"
"Pretty much, then there's the Werewolves or they prefer the Rougarous. They mostly stick to themselves and stay in their compound in the swamps most of the time, don't get on their bad side though they're ruthless"
"I'll keep that in mind"
"Then there's the Voodoo people, you rarely see them but that's a good thing, if you ever get a visit by them you might as well kiss your ass goodbye"
"Sheeesh"
I look over to Alora
"Let me guess they all want that bounty that's on my head"
"So far I've heard that the wolves are the only ones interested, the vampires already have money and the Voodoo people won't kill anyone unless necessary, they have a certain code"
"Well I guess that makes it better"
"Ehhh sure let's go with that"
"Why you saying it like that?"
Lou looks over and butts in
"There's rogue creatures out there that could've got wind of the bounty and won't hesitate to take it"
"You've got to be shitting me?!"
"Yeah so watch your back out there"
"So what do I do? I can't go back to the air bnb they could be waiting for me there"
Alora looks at me
"You can stay at my place until everything cools down"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah I have an extra room you can stay in"
Lou looks at me
"That would be your best bet, you'll be safe with her"
"Alright I guess so"
Alora pats me on the shoulder
"Alright let's go my place ain't that far"
We both head out the bar and start walking down the street. A few minutes later we arrive at her apartment and she opens the door, there waiting for us is three guys sitting in her living room.
"Yeah real safe here Alora"
"Shut up Jay!"
One of the younger looking guys stands up and starts talking
"You two need to come with us"
Alora puts her arm in front of me
"I know who you guys are, what if we don't come?"
"Then we kill both of you. The boss just wants to talk"
Me and Alora both look at each other and agree to leave with them. They lead us to a car and soon we're on the road heading to wherever the fuck they're taking us, this could end up really bad.