Authors: Holly Copella
M
el sat on the sofa within Hailey’s suite wearing one of the
plush, signature hotel bathrobes. She had a drink in her hand and appeared
moderately sedate, although being drunk was a possibility. Vance, Rafe, and
Logan stood at the breakfast bar while studying a map of the hotel and
attempted to pinpoint the location of the sacrificial chamber in relationship
to the tunnels. Skyler was standing alone on the balcony and stared out to the
ocean. He hadn’t said a word since they’d returned to Hailey’s suite from the
sub-basement. Hailey sat in the overstuffed chair with the black cat nestled
on her lap. The cat purred as if it didn’t have a care in the world. Hailey
stared intently at a lit candle on the coffee table and flicked her finger at
it. Nothing happened. She was quickly becoming frustrated and glanced at the
guys by the breakfast counter.
“What’s the point of having powers if you can’t
control them?” she demanded.
“Join the club, Hailey,” Logan replied while
leaning on the counter near Rafe.
“The only one who seems to have control of his
powers is your little protector there,” Vance remarked and indicated the little
cat on her lap.
Hailey lifted the black cat and looked into its
eyes. “What’s the secret?”
The cat appeared completely relaxed while dangling
in her hands and purred. She returned the cat to her lap.
“Forget it, he’s not talking,” she remarked.
Too many unexplained things had happened that
night, and she was growing tired of more questions than answers. The last few
days had thrust upon them some bizarre notion that they were brought together
for an unknown assignment against never before seen creatures. Now Marcus was
thrown into the mix. Again, there were more questions than answers. She
casually turned in her chair to watch the guys at the counter.
“What does Marcus know that we don’t, Logan?”
Hailey asked with a defeated sigh.
“He said you were sent by some emperor to stop
him,” Logan replied then shook his head with limited understanding. “I don’t
know anything about an emperor. Perhaps he’s the ruler of the kingdom. I’m
guessing whatever world you came from, Marcus was a part of it.”
“I lived with my uncle as far back as I can
remember,” she bluntly informed him. “I was a little girl when he died. I may
not remember much, but I can assure you we lived on this planet. I think I’d
remember coming from an alien world. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Your uncle had to be from that same world and
brought you here when you were very young,” Logan replied. “He may have been
the one with all the answers, but he died before he could share them with you.
Without your uncle, you would have been left to your own resources.”
Hailey groaned and allowed her head to fall into
her hand. “And I gave us away to Marcus,” she scoffed then looked back at the
men. “That’s why those things attacked us on the beach. He sent them to
destroy us. I’m so stupid.”
“What did he intend to do with me?” Mel finally
asked, seemingly coming to life on the sofa.
Hailey had almost forgotten her friend was still
with them. She’d been unusually quiet since their return. Hailey wasn’t sure
she wanted to tell Mel about her suspicions. It would only cause her further
stress. She seemed frightened enough from her ordeal and didn’t need any added
trauma. While Hailey thought of a tactful response, Vance felt compelled to
answer her question.
“Judging by the condition of the victims in the
tunnel, he somehow absorbs their fluids,” Vance replied. “Maybe it’s how they
survive. A feeding process?”
Mel stared at him with her mouth hanging open.
“You mean he wanted to suck my blood?” she suddenly cried out.
It would seem Hailey was the only one concerned for
Mel’s delicate emotions at the moment. She was about to scold Vance when Logan
chimed in.
“It would explain the disappearances over the
years,” Logan remarked. “I’m guessing all those victims were abducted from the
hotel at some point, drained of their fluids, and mummified into the cave
wall.” He shook his head. “Being sucked dry has to be an awful way to die.”
Mel had a look of alarm clearly plastered on her
face. Hailey groaned softly and moved onto the sofa alongside her terrified
friend. She placed her arm around her shoulder and attempted to comfort her.
“Guys can be so insensitive,” Hailey gently informed
her while attempting to keep Mel from freaking out.
“I need another drink,” Mel muttered and attempted
to get up, but seemed unsteady on her feet.
Hailey gently pulled her back down onto the sofa.
“Maybe you should try to get some rest.”
“Are you kidding?” Mel gasped with alarm. “I’m
never sleeping again!”
“There’s more to the story than we know,” Logan
announced to the guys. “We need to find out what Marcus knows.”
Rafe was becoming annoyed with the entire
conversation. “How about we just eliminate Marcus and forget about the petty
details?” he demanded.
Vance glared at Rafe and smirked with a hint of
irritation. “I doubt he’s simply going to roll over and play dead.”
Rafe flashed an insincere grin at Vance. “I’ll ask
nicely.”
“Marcus has had years to guard his game,” Hailey
informed them as she stood and joined them at the counter. She couldn’t deny
the tinge of envy she harbored. “He’s ahead of us on the learning curve. I’d
feel better if we knew half what he does.”
“You’re giving him far too much credit for
intelligence, Hailey,” Rafe announced.
“Are you serious?” Hailey demanded while staring at
him with surprise. “He
knew
who I was. I don’t even know who I am
these days.” She couldn’t believe someone as smart as Rafe could be so na
ï
ve at times. He lacked any
sense of curiosity and only concerned himself with the urge to swiftly and
harshly deal with any threat. Of course, as the Guardian, being a warrior was
his only job. “Where is he getting his information? How many of those creatures
are there? How does he control them? We need a few more answers if we hope to
survive another day in this nightmare.”
“Don’t overcomplicate things,” Rafe announced
boldly. “Who cares why? He controls the creatures, so we eliminate him.
Problem solved.”
“Run in guns blazing, huh?” Logan announced
demandingly. “The problem with your solution, Rafe, is you don’t know what
you’re running into. You see a cockroach, and you think stepping on it will
solve the problem. What about the one million others hiding in the walls? You
can’t step on all of them.”
Rafe placed his hands on the counter, leaned
forward, and stared Logan in the eyes. “Oh, so now I’m supposed to take
tactical military advice from the froo froo lounge player?”
“Did you just call me froo froo?” Logan suddenly
demanded while throwing his shoulders back as he straightened, puffing his
chest to its full size.
“Come on,” Rafe snorted and appeared humored by
Logan’s intimidation attempt. “You’re an overgrown Boston Terrier!”
Vance laughed but refrained from comment.
Logan glared at his playboy sidekick and appeared
offended. “Oh, the pretty little Pomeranian finds that funny.”
Hailey shut her eyes and groaned. So much for her
mystic warriors.
N
early an hour had passed
and the scene within Hailey’s suite was escalating. Overinflated egos were
trumping common sense. Hailey had enough of her boys acting like less mature
boys and finally joined Skyler on the balcony. She leaned on the half wall alongside
him and enjoyed the solitude with him. His preference to remaining on the
balcony by himself seemed to be something more than just recovering from being
ambushed earlier that evening. Rafe and Vance’s raised voices were heard
snapping at each other through the open door. It was going to be a long
night. Hailey studied Skyler a moment in silence.
“Are you okay?” she gently asked. “You haven’t
said much since we got back.”
He finally straightened and glared at her with a
look of annoyance he’d never displayed before.
“Let’s see,” he announced with a slight hiss in his
voice. “Talbert fired me earlier this evening, oh, and I was nearly diced into
quarters!” He collected himself and groaned lowly. “No, I’m not okay. I’m
not okay with any of this. I’m just not cut out for this sort of thing.”
She knew Skyler wasn’t much of a fighter, and the
events throughout the evening had finally taken their toll on him. It wasn’t
easy to accept. Even Hailey didn’t care for the responsibility suddenly thrust
upon her.
“None of us are cut out for this, Skyler,” she
gently informed him.
Rafe’s raised voice was heard from inside. “Oh,
come on, Vance,” he lashed out. “It’s not rocket science. It’s not as if
those beasts have any real tactical abilities. Am I the only one with any
balls around here?”
Hailey held her breath and reconsidered her
comment. “Okay, maybe one of us is.”
She pulled the balcony door shut, eliminating most
of the raised voices from inside. Skyler finally turned to face her with a
strange, lost look on his face.
“You don’t get it,” he gently informed her. “I’m
not like the others. I don’t have special powers. I just don’t have what it
takes to be Numinous. I can’t protect you.”
There was an awkward silence as she stared at him.
It wasn’t about the attack or the danger he faced. He didn’t fear for his
life; he feared he didn’t deserve his position. She gently placed her hand on
his lower arm.
“It’s not your job to protect me.”
He again leaned over the half wall, stared off
toward the ocean, and seemingly pouted. “I should have known Marcus was
setting us up, but I didn’t. Rafe somehow figured it out, but I couldn’t sense
the danger.”
“You took out two of those creatures tonight,” she
proudly reminded him.
“One,” he muttered insecurely. “The falling
ceiling took out the other. That hardly counts.”
She gently patted his arm and stared at him even
though he didn’t look at her.
“You have an amazing gift, Skyler,” she informed
him. “You can see the future and communicate with me through your mind. That
is a very special power.”
He snorted a soft laugh and looked at her. “Vance
can command animals. Logan communicates with plant life,” he boldly announced
then gestured wildly as his words came out faster and louder. “Freakin’ Rafe is
a one-man commando unit. And you,” he gave her a quick once over, “well, let’s
just hope no one ever pisses you off.” He looked away from her and muttered,
“Even the cat has more power than I do.”
“Don’t feel you have to compare yourself to the
others--or the cat.”
Skyler stared out to the ocean in the distance and
leaned heavily on the half wall. There was a strange silence. He seemed
beaten down by the world he’d been secretly wishing for his entire life.
“I just thought I finally fit in somewhere,” he
said gently. “I was supposed to be
someone
. When you came to me in my
dream, you told me it was my destiny.” His head hung down with despair. “I
thought for the first time in my life that I was someone important. It was a
lie. I’m still just me.”
“You are important,” she announced firmly. “You’re
my best friend and have been for a long time.”
He was silent a moment then glanced at her and
uncertainly straightened. “I’m sorry,” he said gently and gave a slight wave.
“It’s been a traumatic day, you know--beasts and all.”
Hailey smiled, placed her arms around him, and
hugged him. Skyler appeared surprised then returned the embrace. She kissed
him quickly on the cheek, pulled away just far enough to meet his gaze, and
smiled.
“I need you.”
Skyler hid his pleased grin as his cheeks
reddened. “Well, as long as you need me--”
She clung to his arm as they turned toward the
balcony doors. Through the closed glass doors, the others stared at them from
inside, having seen the kiss and embrace. Their expressions were priceless.
Skyler hid his tiny smile and cast a quick glance at her.
“Do you suppose we can give them a minute longer to
get the wrong idea?”
Hailey smiled and laughed while hugging his arm.
†
F
aint laughter was heard within the laundry room just a little
after three in the morning. A folding table and chairs were crudely set up in
the center of the vast laundry room with its industrial sized washers and
dryers. Six men played poker while another man and a woman stood nearby with
drinks in their hands and watched the remaining players increase their bets,
tossing cheap plastic chips onto the center of the table. There was no doubt
the plastic chips represented actual cash. The remaining players were serious
about their play, wanting to secure the sizable pot in the middle of the
table. Cigar smoke had already filled the air, despite several machines
designed to eliminate the smoke. The game was unauthorized and illegal.
Daniel watched the man across from him lay his cards down to reveal three
queens. There was a faint round of groans. Daniel silenced them with a grin
and affectionately spread out his full house, tens over jacks. Those who had
groaned now laughed at the losing man’s expense. Daniel grinned and collected
his sizable pot of plastic poker chips, pulling them toward him in a sweeping
motion. He gloated a little more than socially acceptable.
There was a faint growling sound from across the
room. Everyone heard the unusual sound and looked in unison toward the main
door. The door was suddenly thrown open, and two massive creatures bolted into
the room. Everyone screamed in response to the hideous, charging beasts. One
attacked the standing man while the other leaped onto the poker table, knocking
it and several people to the floor. It landed on top of another man and sank
its teeth into his throat while slinging its large head, snapping the man’s
neck. Those who hadn’t been knocked from their folding chairs sprang to their
feet, the metal chairs crashing to the floor as they simultaneously stood. The
first creature ripped out the man’s throat and immediately turned for the
others as they screamed in terror while bolting for the main door. Two more
creatures lunged into the room and tackled the first few men. The creature
already within the room leaped onto the fleeing woman’s back and rode her to
the floor. She was unable to scream from the hard impact with the floor. The
beast grabbed the back of her neck in its mouth and violently slung her around
like a ragdoll. She barely released a whimper before her neck snapped. As one
of the employees ran into the open doorway, a fifth creature appeared from the
corridor and mauled him, tearing into his flesh. The creature tearing apart
the man in the doorway blocked the only exit.
Daniel and the two remaining guests were trapped
within the room. As they turned, the four beasts had finished disabling their
prey and charged the three men. There were more screams as the creatures
leaped onto two of the men, tackling them to the floor. Two beasts tore into
one man, while the third beast easily ripped out the throat of another guest.
Daniel attempted to run for the industrial sized dryer and possible safety.
The charging beast slashed his calf, leaving four large gashes. Daniel fell to
the floor from the forceful strike and the enormous pain. Despite his torn
leg, he attempted to pull himself for the dryer. The beast grabbed his arm and
slung him around like an old chew toy. Daniel landed on his back in agony from
both his arm and leg injury. He looked up as the beast hovered over him with
blood dripping from its mouth. He attempted to scream but nothing came out.
The guests who were left wounded writhed in agony
from their severe injuries. The beasts ignored those who were already dead and
began devouring those still moving. The beasts savagely tore flesh from their
live prey. Most were unable to scream as they bled out from their torn
throats. Daniel watched helplessly as the beast hovering over him anchored his
torn body down with its large front paw and ripped into his soft belly with
sharp teeth dripping blood. There was little he could do but watch the beast
ripping out his insides until the pain finally overtook him, allowing him to
slip out of consciousness. The creatures feasted on the eight guests and staff
at their leisure, leaving the laundry room floor strewn with blood and
mutilated bodies.