Page 31 of The Monster of Hotel No. 7
The man’s eyes roll back, then close.
His face is nearly the same color as the blood leaking from his nose.
He staggers forward, but Sullen doesn’t move and I realize it’s because the man is… collapsing.
Sullen doesn’t release him, but he crouches down, guiding the guy to the ground without releasing his hold on his throat. Not to set him down gently, I understand, but to keep… choking him.
And when the man’s temple is pressed to Sullen’s high-tops and Sullen is squatting, only then does he release him.
The guard slumps face down, arms sprawled out either side of him.
Sullen slowly stands fully again, his gaze drifting to mine.
My lips are parted and I know I need to blink and recover and we need to fucking move andshit,I should get the gun, but just when that last thought registers and I manage to tear my eyes from Sullen and try to find the weapon, we hear many footsteps, like someone is coming back toward the door we just entered from.
We have to go.
I don’t spare another glance to the man lying motionless on the ground. I don’t know if he’s dead. I don’t know if I just watched a murder. I don’t know, and right now, I don’t care.
I reach for Sullen.
His gaze scans the ground, no doubt looking for the gun, too, but the footfalls are louder, heavier, and after a moment, his fingers reach back for mine.
We continue deeper into the dark corridor and I wonder how long it’ll take someone to find the body.
Sullen’s hand is in mine.
He might have just committed a homicide with his fingers alone.
His hand is in mine.
He could have just killed someone for me. For us.
I try not to let my marvel over that distract me from the fact he is taking me somewhere, perhaps where he… touched me before, and although I have gotten us here with minimal discovery, I’m not sure what will happen once he is in charge.
If the potential corpse on the barroom floor is any indication, I could be in worse trouble.
We continue past the bathroom doors in total darkness—even the fire alarm does not flash here, and the ringing siren is quieter, as if muffled—with me in the lead.
But once I take five steps in, I have to stop, my heart racing at the fear of the unknown. I don’t know where we’re going and I’m not sure it’s a good place for me to be. I’ve already come this far, though, and we already left a body behind, so I’m not backing down. I don’t want to separate and I don’t want to risk him getting hurt, but he has to show me where to go.
Without words exchanged or even me having to glance back, he walks ahead, still holding my hand, and pulls me softly onwards. I know we come through the supply closet because of the twist of the door then the vivid scent of bleach reaching my nostrils.
We shuffle through the narrow space and I glance over my shoulder, wondering if those footsteps from before were running to Septem, or elsewhere. But I sense nothing in the dark, and I close the door behind me
The deeper we go, the less I can see as we continue in blackness, and the alarm doesn’t reach my ears at all. It is strange, and I wonder what this part of the hotel was originally built for because it has much more depth than a closet really needs. Perhaps it is only some place Stein and Sullen know of; in a way, I hope so, although I am terrified of the thought of Stein Rule coming here. I don’t know where he is currently, if he can be found, but I really hope not.
Eventually, Sullen stops and he pulls his hand from mine.
I immediately reach out and grab the back of his hoodie, not wanting to be left here in the cold gloom. He stiffens; I feel his spine straighten as my knuckles graze against it from the way I am holding him, but he doesn’t shrug me off.
I hear a soft clank of keys and I imagine they are in the pocket of his black jeans. A moment later his body shifts, then I hear the turn of a lock and the creak of a door.
Bitter cold causes me to shiver, the air crawling over my exposed thighs, along my clavicle, down my arms and across my spine. But I hold onto his hoodie and together we move through the dark. I realize he has held the door open for me and I gently nudge it closed with the sole of my shoe until I hear it click into place. Another sound follows, like the lock automatically latches shut. We continue moving deeper under the hotel and I feel claustrophobic. The walls seem to close in around me even though I can’t see them and I find myself hugging my shoulders tight down my spine as I follow him along.
The scent of mildew is strong, and I think I hear water dripping from somewhere.Don’t splash on me,I think, wrinkling my nose at the thought.Yuck.
Sullen says nothing and both of our footsteps are only soft whispers in the dark.
