It was supposed to be our last big trip before our graduation. So I and my two best friends Nick and Chris set out to have our very own little spring break, albeit in Germany.
Soon enough we’d be jailed away in an office at a typical nine to five, so we wanted to go wild one last time.
Our route started at our home city in South Germany, led us on to Berlin and finally to Hamburg. We’d planned for three things beers, parties, and hookers. Hamburg, the final destination of our trip, was the best place for all three.
In case you didn’t know, Hamburg has one of the most famous red-light districts in all of Europe, the Reeperbahn. Before you ask, yes, prostitution is legal here.
After a few nights of heavy partying in Berlin and a five-hour train ride, we finally arrived in Hamburg.
We settled in a cheap Airbnb, and once evening arrived, we set out for the Reeperbahn.
The place is absolutely packed with bars and clubs. We had a drink here a shot there and generally had a great time. It wasn’t long before an overly friendly bouncer invited us into a strip club. He promised us cheap drinks and the hottest girls in the city. Well, of course, we were dumb enough to believe him.
Six Euros per beer, a bored middle-aged stripper named Clementine on the stage and we knew we’d been tricked. As soon as we finished our drinks, we left the place and Clementine’s promises for ‘a little something extra’ after her show behind.
As the night progressed, we eventually ended up at the famous Herbertstraße.
“Well guys,” my friend Nick started with a big smile, “this is where we’ll really find the hottest girls in the city.”
You see, the Herbertstraße is the only street in the whole city in which you can find prostitutes presenting themselves behind windows. The place has the reputation of having some of the most beautiful and most expensive prostitutes in all of Hamburg. Let’s just say, it was tough for me to keep a clear mind.
We went from window to window until we found a small back alley. There were an ATM and a vending machine and of course more prostitutes. We had a look at all of them and were about to get out again when we noticed another woman near the back.
The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was on a whole different level. I could almost feel myself being drawn towards her.
She was an oriental beauty with long black hair and deep brown eyes. The moment she noticed us stumbling into her direction she bid us come closer.
She smiled and laughed a bit when she noticed our stares. In front of this woman, all three of us were little boys again, each trying to outshine the others.
“Now what do we have here. Are you three looking for something special?” she asked in a voice as sweet as honey. I felt my heart skip a beat as she spoke and I could do nothing but nod for an answer.
She giggled again. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard.
“Well, you won’t find it here. If you want to experience something truly special, there’s only one place where you can find it.”
With that, she slid a small note from an opening in the window. As I picked it up, I saw that it had the name ‘Der Basar’ and a crude map of how to get there on it.
As the three of us looked at it, the girl inside turned away from the window.
“I’ll be waiting there for you,” she said before she vanished.
“W-wait, what the hell?” Nick blurted out and hurried for the window.
“Fuck, guys, she’s gone!” he whined.
“Well, she said she’s waiting for us here,” I said and waved the note in his direction. “Are we going or what?”
“And you think she’ll be even there?” Nick asked.
I shrugged. “God knows, but we might as well go. We got nothing to lose anyway.”
“Where the hell even is it?” Chris asked and ripped the thing from my hand.
He took out his phone. After a bit of toying with Google Maps, he showed me and Nick a route that would lead us there in about fifteen minutes.
It led us along the Reeperbahn before we were supposed to enter a number of smaller streets.
“Hey Chris, hand me that thing for a moment,” Nick started and took the note from his hand. “Wait, this place is supposed to be a Laufhaus! Now we have to go!”
“Holy shit, are you serious?” I was next to him in a moment and reread the words on the note. There it was ‘Der Basar – Laufhaus’.
“Alright guys, what’s a Laufhaus?” Chris asked us turning around to Nick and me.
Nick’s face distorted into a mask of disbelief. “How the hell do you not know what a Laufhaus is, dude?”
“Sorry man, but I usually don’t pay to get laid.”
“Well fuck you, too!”
I sighed as the two of them started to throw a few more insults at each other. Once they stopped, I chimed in to explain things to Chris.
“Yo Chris, a Laufhaus is a special brothel. Instead of going in and asking for a girl, you can roam the place until you find one you like. There are girls everywhere waiting right in front of their rooms.”
“Well, I hope there are more girls like her around!”
It wasn’t long before we arrived at our destination. We ended up standing right in the middle of a small, dark street.
“Where the hell are we, man?” Nick cursed at Chris yet again.
“Right where the stupid note said we were supposed to go!”
“Well, you obviously fucked something up. Let me see…”
“Guys? Maybe it’s down here,” I interrupted them and pointed down a small alleyway. There was a slight shimmer of red light coming from it.
At first, I only stared down the alleyway, and I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to go in. Then, as the image of that beautiful woman popped into my mind again, all those thoughts vanished.
Nick and I went forward and soon stepped inside.
“No way guys,” Chris said and raised his hands, “this shit looks sketchy as hell! What if there’s, I don’t know, mafia people waiting for us.”
“Mafia, in Hamburg? What the hell are you talking about? And who’d rob three poor students? Shut up and come on or we’ll you leave behind.” I called out to him.
It didn’t take long for him to follow us.
As we stepped through the alley, our footsteps echoed between the walls. Everything else was quiet.
“Fucking hell guys, I don’t like this,” Chris mumbled behind me.
It took us only about a minute to reach the end of the alleyway and the source of the red light.
It was a run-down old apartment building. All its windows were closed off by curtains, but there was a dim red light shining behind some of them.
A simple sign of gleaming red letters welcomed us to ‘Der Basar.’
“What an absolute fucking dump,” Chris cursed from behind.
He had a point, I thought, as I looked at the building. This didn’t seem right. There was no freaking way a beauty like her would be working in a dump like this.
“Why the hell would she send us out here? Fuck, you think she just wanted to get rid of us?” Nick asked looking at me.
I shrugged. “Either that or she gets a cut for anyone who comes here with this stupid note of hers.”
“Yeah, but THIS place?”
“This place indeed, young sirs!” A short man suddenly called out to us in a booming voice. He came out towards us and was dressed in flashing red robes that reminded me of a magician or circus director.
“Welcome at Der Basar! A place where dreams come true and your every desire will be fulfilled! Only here will you find the experience of a lifetime!”
He said it with a gesture of grandeur. The ordeal felt strange, considering the run-down building behind him.
“Eh, okay, we’re actually here because of this note. A woman said she’s waiting for us here,” I said in a low voice.
“Well, then why don’t you go in and have a look? There’s no charge for going inside.”
“Well fuck it, we came all the way here anyway,” I finally said, “might as well have a short look around.”
“Oh, you won’t regret it! Things are not always what they seem. Those who are willing might find the experience of a lifetime inside.”
The man had a big grin on his face when he finished and ushered us to follow him inside.
“Can’t believe this,” Chris mumbled behind us.
What we entered was the polar opposite of what we’d expected. It was a grand, costly furnished entry hall. For a moment I had to stop and wonder if we were still at the same place. The short man gave us a knowing grin before he vanished in a booth near the entrance.
Luxurious wallpaper, wood framing, and shining, golden engravings covered the walls. The air was heavy with incense and other exotic scents. The only thing that was still the same was the dim red light.
“Holy shit,” Nick said, “what the hell kind of place is that?”
“No clue, but it’s definitely impressive,” I added.
After we’d looked around a bit more, we haphazardly decided on a hallway to our right. There were doors everywhere. In some, the same dim red light was shining, while others were entirely in darkness. We could hear distant heavy breathing and the sound of flesh bumping against flesh.
In other rooms, we saw beautiful, exotic girls. They were motioning for us to come inside and join them. To say they were stunning would be an understatement, they were breathtakingly beautiful. The more rooms we passed, the harder it was to resist temptation. Yet, we still wanted to find the woman who’d given us the note.
The further we walked, the more the place seemed like a complete maze. Hallways crossed each other, leading around corners and up and down stairs. The place seemed incredible huge, much bigger than the exterior made you think. Was it all an illusion due to the confusing design?
Once more we descended a flight of stairs only to find two naked girls, embracing and kissing each other. When they noticed us, they let go of each other and smiled into our direction. Their bodies were pure perfection, works of art made flesh. As they motioned us to come closer, Nick stumbled forward right into their arms.
One of them embraced and kissed him passionately. They each took one of his hands and led him to a nearby room.
“Guess I’ll stay here for a bit,” he said in a jokingly, half-entranced way.
“Can’t believe it,” Chris scoffed, “both of them.”
“You want to wait for him here?” I asked.
“Fuck that, we came here to have some fun too, right?”
With that, he walked on. We’d barely taken a few more corners when we found a small resting area. There was an expensive looking couch. And on it sat yet another exotic beauty. She had long blond hair and was dressed in nothing but a transparent veil. There was nothing left to your imagination. A minute later I was left all alone.
Well, isn’t that great?
For a moment I thought to go on by myself, but the place was an absolute freaking maze. I didn’t even know how to get back to the room Nick was in right now. God knows how long it would take us to find each other again if we all stumbled off on our own.
I sighed and sat down on the couch. I’d just taken out my phone when I saw something ahead of me in the hallway. The same long, dark hair, the same scarcely dressed, slim, body, the same brown eyes, and the same red lips. There was no doubt about it. It was her. Could she actually have been waiting for… me?
“My, my, guess you really came,” was all she said, but it made my blood course hot through my veins.
With a few soft steps, she came over to me. There she was, standing right in front of me. For a moment I could do nothing but stare at her. Only she mattered. The universe itself had lost all meaning to me. I wanted nothing more than her. With shaking hands, I reached out for her and touched her soft, white skin. I inhaled heavily. Even just touching was almost too much for me. God, I could get lost in those eyes.
Slowly, ever so slowly she leaned forward.
“So you want to experience something truly special?” It was nothing but a whisper, but the question was heavy with unspoken promises.
“I really,” but I wasn’t even able to form one coherent sentence.
There was no need for words. She pushed herself on top of me and moments later our lips met. Nothing mattered. The only thing I could feel was longing and endless lust. I’d give everything for her.
When she released me from the kiss, she was breathing heavily. I had my arms wrapped around her, holding her close. I pushed my face against her upper body, kissing and caressing it. She moaned, threw her head back and with each breath she took, her breasts moved up and down.
My hands wandered and explored the flesh-bound perfection that was her body.
Once more she kissed me and once more passion flooded through me. When our lips separated this time, it was pure torture.
Finally, she pushed me down hard. For a moment, the world seemed to turn dimmer. The red light retreated, and the only thing I could still see was her upper body and her face.
The way she moved, the way she threw her head back, it was almost too much, too sensual. As she leaned back, she finally took off the few pieces of clothing still covering her upper body. She pushed her heavy breasts into my face and started to caress my body.
I felt her mouth against my ear, my neck, my shoulder and her hands all over my body. Her touch was so careful, well measured and yet so passionate. It was almost as if she was all over my body at the same time.
I couldn’t resist anymore. When I opened my eyes though, I saw something strange. For a moment there were too many fingers, too many hands. I saw the flesh of her body shape and shift, as she started to entangle me.
When she saw the look on my face, she giggled.
“You wanted something special, didn’t you?”
I didn’t say a word, I just couldn’t. I inhaled sharply as I pushed everything but her from my thoughts. My clothes were off already. I hadn’t even noticed it. By now she too was completely naked. This was worth anything in the whole world.
As she pulled me towards her and guided me inside the feeling was out of this world. Never had I know that such passion, such pleasure was possible. Her hands were holding on to me, but at the same time, they were working all over my whole body, to give me this unbound pleasure.
“Jesus fuck!” I suddenly heard Chris scream.
“Eric! Get the fuck away from this thing!”
He was right next to me and threw himself against the woman pushing her off me.
“What the fuck man!” I screamed at him and tried to punch him. Then I saw it.
What was on the couch now was something entirely different. It was a beautiful, disgusting abomination. Her face was the same as before, but her body, oh god, her body. It was nothing but a shifting, writhing mess of limbs. There were so many arms and hands. Her neck was too long, and I shivered as she laid eyes on me. Yet, it took only a moment, before desire overtook me once more.
I was about to get back on top of her, to let this ungodly abomination embrace me again. To show me more of what I’d just felt.
“What the hell are you doing!? We’ve got to get out of here,” Chris yelled at me and pulled me away.
The creature giggled and finally got up. One last time she smiled at me before she slithered towards the hallway.
“Well, come back when you’re ready,” she called out to me from down the hall. Then she‘d vanished.
I shuddered, what the hell had happened? What the hell had I just seen?
“Dude, what the fuck is going on? Why are you-?”
“There’s something wrong with this place! These women, these things… fuck man! That thing fucking bit me! Here!”
He pulled up his shirt to reveal a huge, bloody gash on his chest.
“Wait, what happened?” I was out of it. I had no idea what he was even talking about.
“The fucking woman! Come on!”
I’d barely put on my pants before he started to pull me down the hallway. “Hold on, I don’t,” but I broke off. What was going on? Why was the smell of incense so heavy in the air?
“We’ve got to find Nick!” Chris said to me.
Nick, I wondered for a moment. Who the hell was that? My god, where the hell did she go?
I looked around for the woman, but Chris dragged me on. The place was even weirder now. We rushed down one corridor to find a flight of stairs we’d taken before only to end up at another hallway. Whenever we turned around things seemed to have changed completely. It was almost, as if this whole, entire place was shifting and warping itself around us.
“Nick! Where the hell are you?” Chris called out.
There was no answer. The only thing we heard was giggling from the rooms around us. Hands reached out for me, touching me, bidding me to join them. Oh how much I wanted to. I wanted to be back in her arms.
It was by sheer accident that we finally stumbled into the right room. Even in my dazed state, I froze at the display in front of us.
There was Nick, yes. The two girls though weren’t there anymore. What was on top of him now was an obscure bundle of flesh. It was as if the lower body of both girls had fused together into one abominable mess.
More than a dozen, bony legs were wrapped around Nick’s body. While one of the girls was still kissing him passionately, the other was digging around in his intestines, eating him. All the while Nick’s face showed nothing but the highest glee, pleasure out of this world. He moaned, and his face was contorted into a perpetual, bloody smile. The whole bed was soaked in blood.
Chris next to me vomited on the floor, but I only stared. I was disgusted, shocked, repulsed, but also jealous.
When the two of them noticed us all they did was smile at us.
“Why don’t you join in,” they both said and bid us come forward. All the while Nick’s hips were still thrusting the thing on top of him.
“Oh my freaking god,” Chris blurted out, his eyes wide. “Jesus fucking,” but he broke off again.
“Eric! What the hell are you doing!” he screamed at me again, while I stood there, motionless watching the passionate massacre in front of me.
I don’t know anymore how we found our way back to the entrance hall. All I remember is Chris screaming at me as he dragged me through an ever-shifting madhouse.
When we stumbled into the entry hall, the strange short man was still there. When he saw us, his happy face changed to a sad smile.
“Are you sure you want to leave already? You’re missing out on an experience like no other, my friends.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Are you freaking insane? That freak show in there-“
“Young man,” he cut Chris off. “It would be wise for you not to insult-“
“Shut the fuck up! I don’t give a,” but Chris broke off when the posture of the man changed. The smile vanished from his face and was replaced by a look of sheer anger.
He put his hands on Chris’ shoulders and suddenly seemed much taller than before. I could see Chris’ face contorted in pain as the man’s hands almost dug into his skin.
“I think, it’s best if the two of you would leave this fine establishment now.”
It was no suggestion, it was a threat.
“But our friend?” Chris asked in a low voice.
Once again the man’s face lit up.
“Your friend got exactly what he came for. An experience like no other, the greatest pleasure imaginable. All for a comparatively small price: his life.”
—
It’s been more than a week now. I’m not sure where Chris is. I think he went to the police and reported what happened that night or he left the city already.
I, on the other hand, have been searching. Not for my friend, but for her. Every night my dreams are inhabited by her. I see her in all her disgustingly beautiful perfection. Each night I get a small taste of the same pleasure again. There’s nothing I want but her. Each morning I wake up, all alone, covered in sweat and cursing that Chris took me from her.
I’ve spent days now scouring the Reeperbahn and the streets around. I went to the Herbertstraße again, but it’s as if her window never existed at all. The alleyway we found ‘Der Basar’ at is also gone. There’s nothing.
Yet I keep wandering and searching. I hope that I’ll see her again one day. That one day I can find this place again. Nothing is important to me anymore. There is only her and the pleasures she made me feel.
After all, my life is only a small price to pay.
