After a while, her head began to spin and she found herself opening a door at the end of a hallway. Her heart stopped, her breath caught in her throat. For a moment, she thought she saw something, something bulging and bubbling beneath the sheets on the bed, staining it dark. Then she was hurrying down the hallway and was consumed once again by the crowd. She found herself going down the stairs, pushing through the laughing people, and thrust outside into the cool night. A tray of drinks floated toward her and she lifted another with her hand. A Wynton Marsalis track she recognized was blaring from the speakers. She made her way out to the dancing area on legs that no longer felt like her own. She downed her drink, stepped out onto the tarp, and could hear the gasps of recognition as she began to dance.
--From my novel in progress, currently titled UNDERWORLD DREAMS (but I think I'm going to change it again, have to get the title just right).
