Prey for a night

It was almost the end of the work day and we were about to head for the pub on the corner as we do every friday night.Me,Ellie and Kirk had already put on our jackets and we were waiting for Janine to finish some report on a guy that tried to rob a jewelry shop yesterday.It was almost 11:00 o’clock and there was nobody in the police station except us and the janitor,who had just arrived.The guys from the next shift were going to come half an hour.

‘’Come on Janine,you can finish it tomorrow its not a big deal.’’ I told her because we had been staying in the damn station for more than 11 hours and I couldnt stand being there any longer.

‘’Shut up,Frank and give me two more minutes.This guy has so many convictions they`re almost like a russian nesting doll,from one comes another one.’’ Janine was still new to our standarts.She graduated the academy 2 years ago,so she was still trying to be impeccable in the eyes of the higher policemen.But we didnt care that much,I`ve been the longest here,more than 10 years.As for Ellie and Kirk,they joined the force a little more than eight years ago if I’m correct,but they werent as hard working as Janine,but its ok neither of us was.For several more minutes we just stood going around the office,spinning in our chairs and trying to get balls of paper in the trashcan from a distance.

‘’Alright I`m done,you can stop whining’’ Janine stood up and got herself ready.We waited for her in the corridor while she was turning off her computer and cleaning her desk.Janine finally came in the corridor ready and everyone of us gave out a sound of relief and got up.

‘’Oh give me a break guys,blame me for wanting to have a clear conscience’’

‘’Well,not only your conscience is gonna be clear after tonight’’ I said sarcastically and we started heading for the door.And then we heard a rang,it was the telephone.We all looked at eachother and wondered if we should answer it.

‘’I better get it’’ said Janine as she started heading back to the office.

‘’Dont!Leave it to the guys from the other shift,they`ll arrive in a few minutes,or the phone will redirect it to someone pantroling the area.Its fine.’’ I said annoyed wondering what else could hinder us from getting out of the station.Strangely the phone didnt redirect the call,but instead it activated the voice mail.We rushed into the office and we heard the voice of a woman.She was trying to speak quietly but her stuttering made her voice higher at times.

‘’Hello?Is anyone there?Please,I need help!!’’ she weeped bringing desperation from the other side of the line.Janine quickly clicked the button for the loudspeaker and answered her.

‘’Hello,I am Janine.What is the emergency ?’’ she tried to sound calm so that the woman can be more relaxed and explain to her what is going on.We could hear her heavy breathing through the phone as if trying not to be heard.

‘’’M’am ?’’ asked Janine again and we all kept silent so that we can hear the woman.

‘’I....I dont have much time,he is coming.’’ the frightened woman then stopped again.

‘’M’am,who is he?You need to tell me where you are,otherwise we cant help you.’’ Janine looked as confused as we were,but nothing in her voice gave that away.She looked at me worriedly like looking for advice,but before i could say anything the womans voice came out again.

‘’He is looking for me,he....knows I’m here.Please come as fast as you can!!There are others,please!’’ judging by the echo the woman was probably hiding in a small place.Janine exhaled and tried to ask the woman for her address.

‘’Im staying at the Hunbridge hotel on the 6th floor.He is here,he sees me.’’

‘’M’am dont move,stay hidden and dont move,we`re coming to....’’before she could finish her sentence we heard a loud stomp on something wooden.The woman began to scream and we all froze.

‘’NO PLEASE,I’M BEGGING YOU PLEASE’’ the woman screamed in terror and then something cracked and broke and everything went silent.Janine tried to get the woman back on the phone,but she was long gone and only white noise remained.Janine put down the phone and looked at us,but we were just as stunned as she was.We quickly put on our uniforms and reported an homicide case and headed for the hotel.

On the way to the hotel the only sound in the car was the sound of rain pouring on the roof and front window of the car and the cleaners wiping the water off the window.It wasnt the first time we received such a noisy and blood chilling call,but there was something odd about this one and I knew there could be more to it than what we heard.

‘’What do you think that cracking sound was at the end of the call ?’’ Asked Kirk breaking the silence in the car looking through the window.

‘’She probably got hit with something or she fell on something,I’m not quite sure’’ I replied

‘’I thought they closed the hotel to be honest,nobody stayed there either way’’ i said trying to clear my memory on the hotel.

‘’They did,but some rich guy bought it and revived it.They even had a grand opening a few years ago,people say its nothing like before.’’said Janine checking the GPS if we are on the right track.In a few minutes we were already parking infront of the hotel and it didnt seem like anyone inside was aware of the call we received.The hotel had an old school look 1940 style with 10 floors,really big for an old hotel.A few lights were still on in some of the rooms,but more importantly the lobby was bright as a sun,so we headed inside.At the reception there was a thin man looking at the screen of the computer and typing down something.The lobby was decorated with vintage couches and little tables fitting perfectly with the rest in the room,but it seemed to be empty and we went over to him to direct us to the room of the victim.We went over to him and showed our badges and told him what happened or at least our suspicions.The man had a slim figure with black low cut haircut and the official uniform of the hotel.

‘’Oh thank god you came,i`ve been receiving calls for about an hour now for some ruckus upstairs,but i didnt believe it was so serious.’’ said the receptionist and waved at us to follow him.

‘’So you dont know anything about a woman that have been attacked in this hotel?’’asked Ellie while entering the elevator.

‘’No,not at all.I would`ve called you immediately if i had known’’ he sounded cincere and I believed him,but the fact that only she called us seemed strange.Something like that should raise suspicion in their neighbours’ minds.We entered the elevator,that was one of those really old and crapy ones with a grid for a door and sounding like it will break apart every second.Its a miracles that it held us all in and we didnt fall to our doom.The man took us to the room of the woman and apparently she had stayed with a man there.We knocked at first but soon after that we told the man to open the door.What we found inside was beyond our wildest dreams.

 

The decrepit stench in the room blew in our faces making us leave for a minute to get used to it.But it felt like it kept getting stronger as we stood at the entrance of the room.We finally decided to enter and uncover what we could and then leave again.The room looked like a massive brawl had taken place inside.All of the furniture had been thrown around at arbitrary places,the matrace was ripped into several pieces and some strange black goo had been spilled on it.The lamp had been almost ripped from the celling and was swinging back and forth creepily.Janine poked me on the shoulder and pointed at the wardrobe at the end of the room.

‘’Whats that next to the couch sticking out?’’ she asked readying the flashlight and removing the safety from her revolver.I looked at the spot she had pointed at and saw some white object,but it didnt seem to fit with the rest of the environment.I waved at the rest of the crew to follow me and surround the unidentified object.As we approached the place where it lied the odour got stronger and we covered our faces with a few napkins,that the receptionist gave us.I finally distinguished the object as I got closer and realised it was a human part.’’We had forgotten the main thing we had came for’’ i told myself clenching my teeth and closing on the body to uncover the rest of the poor woman.To my horror as i closed on the body next to the leg we saw first appeared a head with blonde hair.I immediately turned to Janine and asked her

‘’Did she mention a second person beside the man ? And before she could answer me i heard Kirk making a chocking sound.

‘’Oh god’’ said Kirk and covered his mouth and ran out of the room.

As i approached steadily the body i discovered that the head belonged to the same woman.Her body had taken a grotesque disfigured form,her spine cracked and twisted backwards,her ribcage spread and sticking out of her chest leaving her with a huge bloody hole in her.The only part of her that wasnt disfigured was her face,pale white,staring with her eyes wide open at the celling.’’Nobody deserves such an end’’ i said to myself trying to move my glace off of her.Even though tho whole picture was gruesome I couldnt turn my gaze off of her unlike my colleagues,who had already gone to look for other evidence in the room.Only poor Ellie still had to look at the decomposed corpse before we covered it with a white sheet.Ellie had to take detailed pictures of the body to include in the report later.The problem was that the image wasnt only memorized on the photos from the camera,but in her mind as well.She had told me once,when we were on a case that it had taken her several years to stop paying attention to the images of all the murdered or disfigured people she had taken pictures of.Night after night waking up screaming covered in sweat realizing its just one of those dreams.I knew exactly how she felt,we all did,but its just a part of the job and it had to be dealt with at some point.When Ellie was finally done I took a white sheet from the wardrobe and put it gently over the poor womans body.One thing that really gave me a chill were her eyes,who unlike her body,that was turning cold slowly,were still filled with the terror that she had felt when all this happened to her.I can only hope that it ended quickly.I put the blanket over the head and got up to check on the rest.Janine was taking samples of the black goo that was spilled on the bed,while Ellie was taking pictures of the room.Kirk entered the room again with a pale face cavering his mouth and nose with a napkin looking like a ghost.

‘’Everything alright ? ‘’ I asked him worriedly.

’’Yeah,its fine.I just need a few minutes to adapt,dont worry.‘’Kirk said and started looking around.

I looked around for the receptionist to ask him a few more questions,but he was nowhere to be found.

‘’Uhm,where did the man who brought us here go ? ‘’ I asked the rest while walking out of the room to check the corridor.

- Didnt he follow Kirk out of the room ? - said Janine still examining the black goo.I looked at Kirk who just shrugged his shoulders and continued with his work.

- Dont you find it strange that the corridor is oddly empty ? - I asked the rest while standing outside in the hollow corridor? - The whole place has this desolate feeling - I added quickly after that.

-What do you mean? - asked Ellie after taking a picture of the nail marks on the wardrobe.

- Well,I know that most people are probably resting in their rooms,but how come doesnt anyone care what happened in this room and more importantly to the woman ? The man at the reception told us that they were complaining about the noise,but isnt it odd that nobody came over to check why theres police here or what was the commotion about earlier.I`m sure she wasnt whispering while this was happening.-

Ellie and Janine looked at eachother taken aback leaving what they were doing to think about what I just said.

- I dont recall seeing anyone downstairs to be honest - said Janine after a short pause and looked at us puzzled -

-Not only that,nobody seems to be watching TV or talkng in the rooms.I doubt that everyone is asleep at midnight or is still out sightseeing.- I said - You know what,I`ll go downstairs to ask the man on the reception whats going on. -

-Do you want anyone to come with you ? - asked Ellie waiting to see if anyone is going to volunteer.

-No,it wont be necessary.I wont be away for too long - I left the room and headed for the elevator and clicked the button.I waited for a few minutes,but there was no sign that the elevator was coming.The nearest stairs were at the end of the corridor so I left the elevator for someone with more patience.Plus I still didnt trust it,who knew how old that thing was.As I walked across the corridor I tried checking if there were any people at all on the floor or somehow every single room except the womans room was vacant.There was light coming out under the doors of some rooms,but even when I stopped infront of them and tried to hear something,there was only utter silence.I had almost lost hope to find at least one person to ask if he had seen anyone else on the floor,when I looked at the door opposite of the stairs.The door was ajar and the buzzing sound of the TV could be heard from a few feet away of the room.I stepped closer to see if anyone was inside when I saw the TV,that strangely had no reception,but was still on.As I moved closer to the door I saw a pair of legs infront of the TV belonging to an old man,who was sitting on the bed staring at the screen.The man was in his underwear and had a dirty tank top on.He looked like he was in his late fifties,but he wasnt showing any sign that he was currently on this planet.Perplexed by his behaviour I waited to see how long this will take and where it will lead,when I felt my pencil slipping out of my hand and falling on the door step of the room.For a second I stood frozen and didnt know if I should hide or take my pencil quickly and explain the situation to the man.The second option was more convenient,so I kneeled down and grabbed the pencil and got up.To my surprise the man was now gone,but the TV was still running and I stepped further when suddenly the man appeared infront of me behind the door.His eyes bloody red pierced me and made me freeze on the spot and made me forget everything that I was going to say.He then immediately shut the door and left me standing in the empty corridor.I tried knocking on the door to at least explain myself,but nobody answered so I turned around and took the stairs down.

 

Most of the floors down were the same as one we were on,hollow and deprived of life.Everything was identical on every floor,the same dark green moquet,the same brown wallpapers and what mostly disturbed me were the small weak lights,making the place even darker and lifeless than it really was.I finally reached the first floor,but now even the receptionist was gone.I waited a few minutes to see if he’ll appear from somewhere,but it was just me and the noise from the TV in room behind the reception.Not being able to contain my curiosity I went behind the reception and looked through the documents of the people sleeping in the hotel at the moment and mmediately after opening the folder with the peoples IDs I stumbled upon the dead womans picture.The picture was attatched to another piece of paper with the photo of a man,who had the same last name as her,but where was he,when the murder took place and where is he now.In reality the hotel should be fully booked as it showed on the computer screen,but oddly nobody was in the mood to wander outisde of his room.After checking the hotels data base for a while I found myself listening to the voices from the TV.There was a cooking show on,but I didnt hear even once anyone naming a fruit or a vegetable,so I turned around to see what were they cooking exactly.The TV was an old model,the ones that still had an antena on them and it was the size of a microwave,but more disturbing was the show that was on.It was a black and white show of two men one of whom was sitting on the table behind the one that was speaking.The speaking man was explaining what was going to be cooked while the other man was sitting seemingly unconcious on the table and staring at the ground.The table infront of him was covered in empty plates and different spices and then the speaking man pulled out a long knife and started sharpening it infront of the still sleeping man.After seeing that he wont get his attention anytime soon he slapped him with full force and the man came back to life and started looking around him worriedly.He was tied up on the chair and was completely immobile to his horror and then he started yelling at the man next to him to release him,but the man was still sharpening the knife and completely ignoring the tied mans screams.

-Now,now,dont be impatient.I am hungry as well,but you dont see me screaming and jumping around. - said the man who was about to make the meal

-You sick fuck,take me out of this chair,or you will be sorry! - the man was still yelling his lungs out and moving violently in his chair

-I will soon....piece by piece - a huge frown came on the mans face and he started laughing maniacally making the other person freank out even more

-Now,before we continue I want you to watch me how I do it,so that you know what to treat your guests one day. - the man took out a little injection out of the side pocket of his vest and punched it lightly with his index finger to see if its functional.He then grabbed the tied man by the neck and pushed his head back so that the neck was fully exposed and then injected him.The other person struggled for a while,but then a wave of relaxation went through his body and he loosened up in the chair.His eyes were still looking around frantically and mumbling sounds were coming out of his mouth,but everything else was limp making him look like prisoner in his own body.The man then took the knife again and pointed it at the other mans chest.

-Now pay close attention,because I wont do it twice.Belive me,it would be physically impossible - he grinned after saying that and then stuck the knife deep above the mans ribcage.A slight pop came out and the man started slicing down the persons chest and didnt make a sound,like an artist making a masterpiece.The poor mans eyes were swirling around uncontrollably,but the body didnt give a single sign that he might be in discomfort.The big knife left a long red line after itself and when he was finally at the bottom by the belly button the man made his two last slices and made the cut look like a peace sign.He then pulled out quickly the knife out of the mans body and exclaimed

-Ah,wonderful!Dont you think ? - the butcher took out a small bib and put it gently around his victims neck and pulled him closer to the table

-Now for the main event of the evening.I am glad you were so patience,you didnt even utter a single word all this time. - laughing at himself he took out the knifes and forks for his grand meal and looked at the man

-Are you excited?I know I am.I cant wait to see the look on your face -

The man in the chair already looked like he had left the place.His eyes staring at the ceiling and his mouth opening and closing,but without any sound coming out.The butcher then ripped his stomach open and his intestines slowling started falling down.At that point I wondered if I should stop there or see where it would go.Unfortunately my curiousity was greater than my revulsion and I kept staring at the screen with one hand on my mouth.The man had already put the intestines on the plate infront of the poor man and was trying to feed them to him with a fork.As I watched further I noticed the reflection of a figure behind me on screen and froze on the spot.It didnt sense that I saw it so it stayed still,but I sooner or later I had to turn around and face it.I put my hand slowly on the guns case and waited for a reaction from the person.He didnt move a muscle and I took advantage of the moment and turned around pulling out my gun at the same time.His eyes were focused on the guns hole that was pointing at his forehead and he stopped breathing for a second.

-My taste in movies might have startled you I presume Mr.Officer - the receptionist stuttered and took a deep swallow.Breathing out in relief from seeing him I put the gun back in the quiver.

-Yes,it did actually,but I was looking for you.You disappeared into thin air a little earlier and I wanted to ask you a few questions about the hotel - i said putting the pictures of the dead woman and her husband deeper in my pocket so that the receptionist wouldnt notice them.

-But of course,lets get up to the room then - said the man and turned hurriedly to the elevator.He seemed a little weirder this time,he kept looking around while walking and quietly talking to himself.While we waited for the elevator I noticed him covering the end of his sleeve with his hand.He had gripped it hard,but a slight red stain was peeking out of the hands end,but I decided not to pay attention to it.Just like they were lacking people they lacked personelll too,so who knows what he might`ve done to stain his white shirt.

-So what exactly did you want to ask me,Sir? - said the man when he noticed me staring at his stain and put his hand higher on his sleeve.

-Oh,well I noticed that nobody in the hotel came by to see what was going on and I’m sure many heard the poor woman - we entered the old elevator and the man closed the door with an ear tearing creek and we started going up slowly.

-Yes,they did hear her.Even I heard her from one of the many calls that i received,it might`ve been the only call that caught what was happening in the room but it was enough to immobilize me for a few seconds.- said the man staring down at his feet trying to recollect his memories from earlier. - It was so strange,you know.It was so loud and cutting and after a moment there was only dead silence. -

I thought about it for a second and remembered that,that was exactly what we heard in the station.I didnt know what was more terrifying,the shriek or the silence after it.The elevator suddenly stopped two floors away from our destination and I looked at the receptionist,who didnt seem worried at all.

- Well aint this a bummer - he said and opened a box on the wall next to the panel with the buttons.Inside the box was a lever and above it a lightbulb that didnt seem to work at the time.The man pulled down the lever sharply and waited for something to happen.

-Dont worry,it usually takes two to three times for it to get back to work - he said after his first failed attempt.He then pulled it one more time and the elevator shook hard and went up again.I was glad we finally got to get out of that moving coffin,next time i was taking the stairs like last time.The door opened with the usual creak and glitch and we went back in the room where the rest were having a chat next to the windows.The faul stench hadnt left the room unfortunately,but at least by the looks of it,we were already done with the investigation for today and we only had to call an ambulance to get the body for an autopsy.

-Can I be of any service to you or have you figured it out already ? - asked the man jokingly,but quickly took his grin off his face when he looked at the woman on the floor.

-I was wondering,did she come alone or did she have someone with her when she checked in the hotel ? - i asked to see if he would mention her husband

-Hmm,no,I dont think so.She came in a hurry and seemed a little upset,but aside from that I dont recall seeing anything unusual - said the man continuing covering his lower sleeve.I wanted to believe him,but evidence was evidence.They were both checked in in the same room on the same date.We were gonna come back either way,so i was going to get to the bottom of it sooner or later,but it was intriguing why he was lying and more importantly,where was her husband now ?

I felt Kirk poking me on my shoulder and pulling me to see something.

-Uhm,did anyone of you uncover the body? - asked Kirk stuttering and seemingly worried.I looked at the womans body and found out he face was uncovered.After moving closer to her my heart skipped a beat from seeing her eyes.not because I hadnt seen them yet,but because they were open again.I stopped for a moment to remember if I had really closed them and I was absolutely sure that I closed them with my bare hands and then covered her fully.The others gathered around me and followed my reaction and then Janine said

-I think this is why she cant keep her eyes closed - she pulled me by the coat and pointed at where she had her light from the flashlight on.I looked up at the ceiling and was left speechless.Half of the ceiling was covered in a huge red sign and it looked like it was painted with a hand.The case had just got a lot more confusing than it already was,when I read the sign.It said : THE DISEASE HAS BEEN UNLEASHED AND SO HAS HE

I stood petrified staring at the sign and couldnt move a muscle and so were the others,because nobody said a word for a while.

-I dont think that this a job for our department - said Kirk who started backing slowly.I turned around to see what the receptionist has to say about this,but he had vanished again,so I ran to the door.It was closed.After bumping on the door several times it was clear that we had been trapped and the only connection with the rest of the world was outside in our car.

-So now what?Cant we take the door down or maybe go out of the window? - asked Janine.She was going in circles hectically and murmuring something to herself.I looked at the window and crossed the room to open it.We werent that high up,but there was no way anyone could walk on such a narrow surface without falling to his death.Also the wind was a lot stronger here so the whole window idea had to be scratched out.

-Nah,its not gonna work,sadly - I told janine who ignored me completely,because she was still talking to herself and galloping around us.

-hey,help me out.Maybe the two of us can bring that door down,it cant be that impenetrable - i told Kirk and the both of us went infront of door and took a pushing stance

-One,two,three! - we counted and slammed the door,but nothing seemed to happen.We tried doing the same thing,but Kirk only ended up almost spraining his shoulder,so that wasnt going to work.The girls on the other hand were sitting silently on the couch,on the part that wasnt covered in blood and intestines.

-The door is being blocked from the other side probably,otherwise i cant explain this to myself.So what do we do now ? - I asked the rest hoping they might come up with something.

-Maybe we could tie together some sheets and get into the room on the lower floor and escape from there ? - proposed Ellie.That could`ve been a good idea,but we lacked sheets and I doubt that the sheets would withstand all of us.At the same moment the vents door fell on the floor and we all turned around to see what caused the ruckus.A long rattling sound was coming out of the vent and we all had our eyes peeled to see what would come out.I pulled out my gun,just in case and removed the safety and stood waiting while the noise was getting louder and closer.Finally a small can fell from the vent and rolled almost to us.By the time we had a look at it it burst a dark yellow cloud that quickly started filling the room.I ran to open the window,but i then realised that the handle had been removed.It was already too late,the entire room was filled with the dark yellow smoke and i felt getting dizzy.My colleagues started falling down on the floor and finally it was my turn.My body met the ground with full force,it was completely limp and before I full blacked out I heard the doorlock click.

 

The sound of something being dragged woke me up and I tried to open my eyes.Everything was still blurry,but I noticed some dark figures moving where the door was.

-H-h-ey,w-wait - I uttered still heavily under the effect of the smoke and one of the figures stopped for a moment.It locked its gaze on me and quickly dragged the object out of the room and didnt return.Everything in the room was spinning and my head was on the brink of ripping open and shooting out grey matter like a fountain.Before I knew it I had blacked out again until I heard a voice and felt something pushing me.It was Janine.

-Frank!Frank,please get up,the others are gone.Please! - she sounded desperate and completely terrified.Somehow that gave me the little will power I needed to get up.After my first failed attempt,Janine pulled me and I was left sitting next to her and started rubbing my eyes.After everything came back to normal I looked around to see if anything had changed,but it hadnt.Everything was on its place,except our friends

-Did you see anything when you woke up ? - I asked Janine

-Uhm,no...I..it took me a while to recover and then I noticed that you were the only one left from us beside me so I tried to wake you up before they took anyone else.- she was as confused as I was and no wonder,it all happened so fast.I reached for the couch and tried getting up on my own,whatever that smoke was,it had fucked us up really hard.The womans body was still lying on the floor,but this time with her eyes closed,apparently whatever sick bastard did this,had a little respect for her.I helped Janine get up and we headed slowly for the open door.We had to watch for eachother not to fall down while walking,because the smoke had partially immobilized us.As we stepped out of the room the view of the corridor,that was a completely normal corridor a few minutes ago,now baffled me.All over the corridor parts of the wallpapers and the moquet were torn out,the walls covered in scribbles,the same as the one on the ceiling,but these had no message.We started moving along the corridor,scanning through what had happened.Some of the rooms were now open and I tried peeking inside in most of them,but I found the same image in all of them.They were all trashed,with dirty sheets on the floor and pieces of glass.Some of the sheets and mattress were drenched in the same black goo that we found on the womans matress.

-Did you find out what that black goo is actually ? - I asked Janine,who was limping next to me

-No,I only took a sample of it,but it seemed strange.It was sticky and dense,almost like blood - she said.

We were almost at the elevator when I remembered my encounter with the man from the room next to the stairs.I asked Janine to hold on for a longer until we reach the mans room.Even when in grave danger she still followed orders without complaining,thats what I really liked in her,she was really conscientious.The mans room wasnt opened so I tried knocking and after the second knock the door cracked open slightly.The crack didnt reveal much so I tried pushing it.There was something blocking it so I pushed it with full force.Unfortunately I didnt think through how hard I was pushing so I flew in the room and fell on the ground.It was dark so i couldnt see what I had fallen on,but it was soft and cold.Janine started touching around for the lightswitch while i was still trying to guess what i had stumbled on.She finally found it and turned the lights on

-Oh,there it is ! - the lights revealed something I hadnt even imagined.I found myself sitting on the mans legs who had long passed away.He was lying on the floor and every seemed in intact aside from his head,that was nowhere to be seen.His head had been smashed from the once dysfunctional TV and hunderds of litle parts were splattered around his corpse.The place where I had landed was soaking wet with blood and i swiftly backed away to the door with Janine.My heart was racing and the only thought in my head was how to escape this madhouse

-W-we have to go Frank,theres something seriously wrong with this hotel.We have to contact others to come and help us. - said Janine

She was right,but we couldnt just leave our friends here,not after seeing what they had done to this man.I tried thinking of a solution,but the heavy pulsation in my head felt like someone hammering a nail in my brain and left me useless.

-We can go to the car and contact the rest to send more cars over,but we cant leave Kirk and Ellie.I cant allow that. - i told finally Janine and stood up.I couldnt stand watching the mans decapitated body and I closed the door after us.

-Ok,lets just go out and contact the others and stay in the car until they come.We will have a better chance finding Kirk and Ellie with the rest. - Janine proposed looking me in the eyes.I could read the fear in them and was completely understanding her,she hadnt had a high rank case yet and now this happened.Even I was extremely overwhelmed by the turn of events so I can only imagine what shes was going through.

-Ok,I guess thats a thoughtful proposition,i hope they`re alright - i said and we started going down.

The stairs had gone through a horrific change too,most of them had iron pipes sticking out of them and parts of the concrete were fractured and were extremely hard to get down on.Janine and I kept eachother from tumbling down as much as possible,but apparently I needed her help more than she mine.I was still pretty fucked up by the chemicals in the smoke and the image of the phantom figure still crept in my mind.Why would they take only two of us and not the whole group?I`m sure they figured that we would go to the car and contact other police cars and search through every corner of this hotel and find them eventually.And why Kirk and Ellie and not me and Kirk or Janine and Ellie?

The situation on the lower floor was completely normal in comparison to what we just saw.The corridor was clean and tidy as if nobody had ever been on it,the lights werent blinking as the others and it smelled of freshly washed towels.

-Come to think of it,this floor seems even safer than the car,maybe we should stay here and signal someone somehow?

-Yeah,probably.- I understood her joke,but I would be more eager to laugh when I know that everyone of the friends is safe.-Lets get down faster and get over with this -

We finally reached the lobby again and we rushed to the door when the grotesque picture infront halted us.The once shiny and welcoming lobby had now turned into a slaughterhouse.Numerous bodies were lying on the floor and on the furniture,most of them dismembered and with disjointed limbs all over the lobby.Everywhere I looked more were popping out,right above me where the chandelier was,was now a woman in a bloodsoaked white dress.She was hunged by the spine with a grappling hook and her eyes were piercing through me while dark drops of blood were falling slowly from her mouth and making a small pool of blood below her.I grabbed Janines hand and pulled her so to escape faster from this hellhole.Our car was right outside infront of the hotel,but when I tried to open the door my heart sunk.The door had been locked and now the car seemed more distant than ever.I kept pounding and slamming the door until I finally crumbled down on the floor.

-We were so close! - I yelled feeling the rising disgust rising in my throath making me feel helpless.I put my hands on my face and pretended I wasnt there,this wasnt happening,not now,not to me.-Now im going to open my eyes and I will wake up at home- i said to myself grinning.But no,the decrepit stench was still circling in the room and the lifeless bodies were still there.I caught Janine looking at me

-So,w-what do we do now ? - she had turned deathly pale and little round shadows had appeared under her eyes.I stood up and looked at the reception

-Now,we find a key and get the hell out of here - I said and headed for the reception.The TV was still on playing that horror movie that the receptionist was watching,but now only the dead man was in the picture and he had thrust his head in the plate infront of him in his own intestines.I grabbed the nearest remote and tried to get rid of that channel,but it wasnt doing a thing.The batteries were inside and it looked brand new,it should`ve been functional,unless this wasnt a TV channel at all.

I looked at the back of the TV to see if there is an antena or something like that can deliver cabel TV,but there was nothing.The TV was plugged in and that was it,which meant that,what I had watched,was a live footage.The rising disgust in the throat came back again rushing and I started coughing.I had stood still through the whole act while the poor man was being butchered infront of me and I just watched like it was a play at the theater.Now wasnt the moment for grieving though,we had to find the damn key and get as far from here as we could.I went through the things on the desk and i accidentally stumbled upon two sheets of paper with the headshots of Ellie and Kirk.As I skimmed through the inventory of the two documents I found out that it was their registration paper for the hotel.It said that they had booked a room today at 11:40 o’clock.That was when we arrived at the hotel.I called Janine over baffled from what I had seen.

-Hey,come over here for a sec - I showed her the documents and she checked them with distrust.-Do you remember them doing anything at the reception earlier? Why would they check in ? - Janine looked at them a little longer and then said

-This cant be right.They`re playing with us,its probably a fake ID - but it wasnt.I knew every detail about my two colleagues and even if I didnt want to admit it,they matched perfectly.Janine suddenly smashed the two pieces of paper and ripped them apart and threw them on the ground.She started furiously stamping down on them until she ran out of energy and started breathing heavily.Tears were running down her face and she dropped on the floor leaning on my foot and sobbing.

-Why us,Frank?What do they want from us?We`re nobodies,we aint rich nor famous.What could they want from us? - she sat on the ground like a little kid that had just lost his toy and the world had ended for him.I kneeled down and put my arms on her shoulders and pulled her to me.I had asked myself the same questions,but I guess we were about to find out their answers.We stood on the floor nestled together for a while before Janine finally calmed down and we decided that we should look for another place where the keys could be or another way out.Behind the reception was the room where the receptionist had his break and at the back of it was a door.With big black letters on it said ‘’ PERSONNEL ONLY’’ and that was where we were going.I opened the door to find myself in another coridor,the same as the ones we saw on the upper floors,but this one had strange red trails on it.We decided to follow the trails and see where they lead.The trails were continuing behind a black door.It had no sign on it whatsover and we looked at it eachother as if we had another option.I gripped the handle and opened the door gently.There were no lights in the room which didnt allow us to see anything aside from the glass walls infront of us.The room was devided into two smaller rooms,the dark one that we were in and the other lighter one that was infront of us.The bright lights from the other room were blinding us until we got close enough to witness what was inside.It was a type of surgery room,but the floor and walls were covered in dirt.At the one end I recognised the table with the dishes and the dead man at the end of it and then i heard his voice.

-So,the mice finally found the cheese - the man infront of us was just inserting some chemical in an injection and checking if the injection was functional.On the table next to him was a man tied up with only his pants on.The already familiar black goo was coming out of his mouth,even though he seemed unconcious.

-I wondered when you would honor me with your attention - said the man.He looked like a middle aged man in his late 50s with short white hair and a hoarse voice.The man had a long white doctors coat that had several big red stains on the front side.

-I was eager to congratulate your friends on what good patients they were - he waved with a hand over the man next to him and something in the other part of the room,but there were no lights there so we couldnt see what he was waving at.

-Oh,excuse me how silly of me - he put the injection down on a table and quickly ran to the wall infront of him where he pulled a switch and the lights went on.The completely naked body of Ellie appeared infront of us and we both awed at the same time.Ellies body had been hung from the ceiling with several chains,two of which were going through her arms right below her wrists,two going through the part above her heels and two more that were piercing her shoulders.She looked like a human sized puppet on strings with a dirty bag over her head.Janine rushed to the window wall separating us from the other room and slammed the window.

-You sick fuck!What have you done to them?I`ll make you rot in prison for that! - i pulled her quickly and tried to calm her down while she was swinging her arms and legs and yelling curses at the man.He didnt seem to acknowledge her behaviour nor what she said to him and after she finally cooled down he continued with his speech.

-As i was saying your friends are two ideal speciments for my grand experiment.- he starred at us as if waiting for a response and then continued

-You see it has been a while since man has feared another being except when at war,but even then the majority of the people nowadays dont know the real meaning of fear.We live in a world where everything is within the reach of our hands.We are at the top of the food chain and there is nothing taking us down from there except ourselves.Thousands of years ago we too had to go out in the wilderness and search for food,make weapons,think of tactics and most importantly kill - he stopped again and stuck the needle in Kirks neck.His body started shaking and struggling with the injected chemical until he finally stopped moving and relaxed on the table.

-I like to think of myself as an innovative man.The liquid i injected in your friend is something i`ve been working on for quite some time and I`ve finally perfected it.Sadly it had a few downfalls,but now its ready to be unleashed.You see,the smoke from the can was actually an antidote for what is already circulating in the air in and around the hotel.Everything that you saw in the lobby was there even when you first arrived,just that the chemical didnt let you see it until I let you see it. - the man grinned creepily and looked at Kirk.He was waking up from the injection and started making incomprehensible sounds and waving his hands in the air trying to grab something above him.

-You are mad!So this hotel is just a big hunting ground for you,huh? - the pathetic thing in that he had turned my friend enraged me and I yelled at the demented doctor.He was still enjoying Kirks attempts to grab the invisible thing until he finally fell off the table.

-In a matter of speech,yes.Why do you think I brought back this place from the grave?It was the perfect spot for such an experiment.- Kirk was now lying on the floor trying to get up shaking his head as if he was coming out of a heavy hangover.He started coughing and the familiar black goo started flowing down his chin and neck.

-Yes,he is ready.I’d suggest you get as far as you can,because the game has begun and there will be only one winner.Most likely me.- by the time I thought through the maniacs words I saw him throwing a fire axe at us.I grabbed Janine as fast as I could and pulled her down covering her hoping the axe would hit neither of us.The glass wall went down with a crash and the axe fell a few meters behind us sticking in the floor.We didnt need anymore signs that we had to leave this place and as soon as the axe hit the ground we raced to the door.The last thing I saw before i closed the door was Kirk sprinting towards me screaming and behind him the doctor staring with a joyful smile on his face.We had no time to get Kirk into his senses,if it was even possible,so we continued running until we reached the lobby.

-What did he do to Kirk? - cried out Janine

-I dont know,but I`m not eager to find out - while we were still wondering where to go,Kirks screams and bumping on the door were echoing from the room behind the reception.He had gone full berserk and not even the thick wooden door could stop him.After his roaring stopped a bang followed from the fall of the door.I took Janine by the hand and we started going up the stairs.I didnt tell her where we were going because I didnt know myself.We reached the 7th floor where it was a little calmer than the rest of the lower floors and we looked for a room to hide in.Most of them were closed which made us search more frantically whilst hearing Kirks shrieks from the lower floors.We finally found an open room and quickly went inside.The room seemed to be untouched until we opened the bathroom door.There was a detatched womans body on the ground,the legs next to the toilet and the torso next to a mans body next to the bath tub.The man had a gun in his hand,that he seemed to have used to make it quicker and less painful for him.A more worrying image came out when Janine pulled the baths curtains and revealed the corpses for three children.All of them were around the age of 10-12 and had a small hole in the middle of their foreheads.Their father must`ve had the burden to deal with that before taking his own life.The saddest part was that they were put next to eachother with their eyes closed as if they had fallen asleep together making them look peaceful.I felt Janine pulling my sleeve and pointing at something on the wall.It was another blood sign,another warning,saying:HE SENSES,BUT DOES NOT SEE

-She must`ve written it before he reached her - said quietly Janine - but what does she mean ? - I wasnt entirely sure either,but we had no time to contemplate.

-The lunatic said that this chemical turns the victims into some primitive neanderthals.I suppose there wasnt a great difference in the way animals and neanderthals hunted back in the day. - but that still didnt give us any ideas on how to use the hint and the roaring was getting closer by the second.Janine suddenly grabbed my coat and then took off hers and left the room.I followed her confused and watched what she will do.She took the two coats along with a few other belongings to the window and threw them out after opening it.

-That should take care partially of our scents - she said after closing the window

-What about the rest of it though? - i asked

Janine went back in the bathroom and pointed at the body of the woman.The detatched body had left a huge pool of blood on the ground in which Janine had now stuck her hands.

-He wont sense us if we smell like corpses or at least i hope so - Janine had a point and francly we had no other option and definitely no time.We started draping ourselves with the blood of the woman.Our skin and clothes now reaked of carrion and I felt like vomiting every few seconds.Janine pulled me back in the bathtub and told me to lay down which seemed like an easy task if we excluded the dead kids next to us.Kirks screams finally reached the room and we heard him slamming and scratching until the door cracked and he rushed in.We could hear him turning everything in the living room upside down and tearing apart everything in his way.When he finally entered the bathroom my heart almost stopped.I was trying not to move a muscle while he was scanning the room for us.His eyes were bloody red and I could feel his heavy breathing all the way in the bathtub.When he noticed the womans body Kirk crawled next to it and smelled her to see if she was alive,which was exactly what we were hoping he would do.Now he had her scent and he wouldnt bother looking around more,at least we hoped he wouldnt.He went through the room one more time before heading for the exit when Janines foot slipped in the bathtub making a loud continuous squeaky noise.That immediately got Kirks attention and he turned around now walking towards us.The oncoming sihluette growing bigger and bigger on the bathtubs curtains brought a lump to my throat and I shoved my head behind one of the kids so that he doesnt recognise me.At the same moment he pulled the curtains and I prepared myself for the worst.I could feel his gaze on me waiting for me to make the slightest move and tear me to pieces.I stopped my breathing and waited for my inevitable demise.Kirk stood a while watching us and testing us until he turned around and left.It took us a few minutes before we started moving again,to realise that every part of us was still intact and we stood up slowly.The foul smell of Kirks breath still lingered in my nostrils making me feel that he might come out of nowhere at any time and smother us.We both looked at eachother for a sign that its safe to get up and slowly got out of the bathtub.

-Lets go to the lobby again while hes looking through the other floors and try to break the lock - i whispered to Janine and waved at her to follow me.She nodded and we left the room.The corridor seemed to be clear so we headed for the stairs trying to be as quiet as possible.We had almost reached the stairs when from behind the corner behind us appeared Kirk.Sensing us move he quickly turned his head towards us and shrieked making my blood run cold.Janine and I sprinted towards the stairs but Kirk was catching on to us really fast and then I heard Janine making a faint sound.I looked back and saw Kirk gripping her hand and pulling her to himself.Trying to pull and save her I was knocked down and flew back and bumped in the the corner next to the stairs.I tried to keep myself conscious and tried getting up,but everything in me was aching.A few meters infront of me Kirk held Janine by the head on the floor and thrust his hand inside her and grabbed on to something and pulled sharply.Holding in his hand high above his head was Janines lung still twitching.I watched as Janine was fighting for her life,choking on the blood gushing out of the mouth.It didnt took long before Kirk landed the final blow.Sinking his razor sharp nails in the head,her eyes turned upside down and only after a slight crack her whole scalp collapsed.Having no interest in her anymore Kirk threw her lifeless body aside and locked eyes wth me.I lowered my hand slowly without him noticing and unlocked my guns case.Rushing at me determined to finish me off Kirk neglected me reaching for the gun and pulling it out and that opened an opportunity for me.I immediately pulled the trigger shootting Kirk in the knee making him tumble on the floor.Thinking that that might immobilize him for a while I took a deep breath and leaned on the wall starring at the ceiling when I noticed something moving in my periphery.It was Kirk,dragging himself looking more fierce than ever.Pointing my gun at him I pulled the trigger once again,but this time something got stuck in it and it refused to shoot.Time was running out and Kirk was closing in and I was still trying to fix my gun.Cold sweat was running down my face when I finally heard the familiar click from the gun and I pointed it at Kirk,this time at his head.Only a meter away I thought of all the moments we had spent together,not only at work but outside of it as well.I remembered him saying that if his wife gave birth to a boy he`ll name him after me.I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger.Everything went silent and it was just me and my best friends corpses.Kirk was lying infront of me with his eyes open and a smoky hole in his forehead and Janine was long gone.I stood there for a while contemplating on the situation and then I heard that voice again.

-Well,well Frank.I didnt know you had it in you - echoed the doctors hoarse voice in the hotel.-But dont hurry to rest,the hunt is still on and I just started getting excited-

I looked at the gun thinking to myself - What if? - pointing it at my head and looked at my friends again.This wasnt going to end like this.I was determined to get out of here and put this psycho behind bars because of my friends.Lowering the gun off my head I stood up still bashed from Kirks hit and went down the stairs.

There seemed to be nobody in the lobby which filled me with hope that I might actually escape this hell hole.Passing through the lobby I got to the door immediately and shot the doors lock leaving the door slightly open.I was reaching for the door when the familiar voice stopped me.

-Oh Frank,you are going to leave in the middle of our game ? - the doctor had a huge grin on his almost like too big for his face.He was holding the axe he threw at us earlier and had no shirt on.His whole body was covered in tattoos,mostly faces of people.He caught me starring at them and exclaimed

-I see you noticed my diary.You see I am a sentimental person and I really like holding on to the good memories I have.I`d really like to make you one of my good memories,like this one for example.He pointed at a tattoo below his left breast and grinned widely.It was hard to see it from that far,but I found out who it was.It was the face of the woman that had called us that night and the tattoo was drawn exactly like she was when we found her.

-This sick game that you`re playing is over and once I go through this door every single police car in the vicinity will arrive and bust your ass.- I said while the man was still grinning infront of me.I couldnt wait more and opened the door when the fire axe pierced the door centimeters away from my face.By the time I turned around the man was already next to me and grabbed me slamming me on the floor.All the air left my lungs and I curled in a ball struggling to breath.The doctor was pulling his axe out of the door and was heading my way again,this time ready to finish the job when a shot in his left arm made him drop the axe.Luckly my gun didnt let me down this time and hit the target right on the spot.The bullet had hit his shoulder immobilizing his arm so that made him an easy opponent.I tried getting up,but by the time I pointed my gun at him he kicked my hand and then grabbed me by the shirt throwing me on the ground.Even injured he was like a walking killing machine,demolishing everything in its way.I quickly recovered from the fall and turned around exactly when the man was infront of me and kicked him with full force in his knee hearing a little pop.The hit had disjointed his knee and now he was limping trying to keep his balance,but the slippery from blood floor was to his disadvantage and he slipped falling down on a mans body.This was my chance to finish him and I took it.Before he could react at all I kicked him as hard as i could in the throat,leaving him wriggling around gasping for breath and holding himself for the neck.I was crawling through bodies and intestines looking for my gun until i finally saw it.The thought of killing the bastard made me neglect the enourmous pain I was still feeling in my chest.I looked back to see if the psycho was still lying on the floor.To my horror the place where he was lying was empty and there was no sign of him.I hid quickly behind a couch using it as a cover and looked to the side.The gun was within a hand reach of me and I reached for it when I heard a strange crack.The sound came from infront of me.The man was standing infront of me with a long black pipe.The gun was a centimeter away from me when he hurled the pipe and my hand froze.The pipe had pierced my throat,blocking every way for air to come in or get out.I could feel the cold steel inside my neck confining me to the couch behind me and keeping me immobilized for the doctor.The colours began to fade slowly and everything seemed to shake from side to side.My lungs pulsating for air felt like bursting out of my chest.This was it.I felt the life in me fading away and my limbs getting colder slowly.The mans silhuette was now infront of me,waiting for the last sign of life to disappear.He put his hand on my chin pulling my head up leveling it for an eye contact and said

-Game over-

 

 

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 08.10.2015

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