ROSE

Chapter Eight - The Butler

Thomas stood at a distance when he inquired, "What do you mean? Where on earth did you come from? This place was empty when we first got here.”
 
“That’s a wonderful question,” Patrick replied calmly and continued, “I was hidden in one of my favourite rooms. I was reading an interesting book before I got bored and dozed off. If it were not so I would have come to your aid. Earlier this morning, as I was cleaning, I realized that Green Forest Resorts had visitors. I would have woken you up to let you know of my presence, but I don’t dare to wake someone from a good night of sleep.” He smiled charmingly.
 
“Where is the stuff?" Lucy asked impatiently.
 
“You can say that I run this hotel all by myself," replied Patrick. “I am like the custodian, the chef; anything you can think of. As for the stuff, I don't think they will be back any time soon.”
 
Emily nearly fainted, but regained her strength as she held Lucy's jacket tightly.
 
“Why do you say so?” demanded Lucy.
 
Patrick explained, “I hope you won't be frightened. A rumor spread that this hotel is haunted. Within a few months, the attendance at this hotel reduced significantly. The stuff was left by itself with little to do. Many of the stuff members walked away, searching for new jobs elsewhere. I was equally advised to quit and find myself a new job by my superiors, but I declined because this hotel isn't just a job. It means much more than that. I made myself comfortable and crossed my fingers that soon visitors would drive through the big gates," he paused and added, “It appears today is my lucky day.”
 
Thomas rolled his eyes around the kitchen, “This kitchen was not tidy when I accidentally walked in the previous night. Are you responsible for cleaning this kitchen?”
 
“I love my job. This drags us back to the statement I passed earlier that this hotel means a lot to me. Tiding up this place is just a fraction of what I can do.”
 
Emily whispered into Kimberly's ear, “I don't like this man. He is talking in parables.”
 
“Calm down, Emily. Everything will be fine,” assured Kimberly while rubbing Emily's hand. She could see the fear in her eyes.
 
“We need to get out of here,” continued Emily. “You saw the infestation in our room. Do you plan to go back inside?”
 
Patrick heard Emily. He spoke delightedly, “Bury your worries because I am here to assist you with anything you need. I will hurry to your room and exterminate the rats and any other ugly creatures.”
 
Emily was engulfed by fear. She trembled as Patrick walked beside her. Lucy could feel Emily's sweaty hands as she held her hand tightly, trying to hide herself from Patrick. Her eyes were swollen and her teeth chattered.
 
“I want to go home,” sobbed Emily. Tears began to stream down her smooth chick, while she wiped some tears with her hand.
 
“No, no, please do not cry, Emily.” Kimberly and Lucy embraced Emily and tried to talk her into stop worrying.
 
“Look Emily,” Kimberly began, “We don't have network here and the car barely has fuel. Even if we manage to drive out of here, we would end up in the middle of a forest, which would be far much worse than being in this hotel.”
 
“You heard what he said that this place is haunted,” Emily continued to sob as tears continued to streamed down her chick.
 
Thomas argued, “He did not say that this place is haunted; he emphasized that it was only a rumour.”
 
Busy calming Emily, little did they know that Patrick had walked back into the kitchen until he announced, “The rats have been exterminated, you may return to your bedroom at your will. However, if you are not satisfied, I may usher you to the rat pit to have visual proof of their extermination.”
 
“Thank you, but that won't be necessary,” said Kimberly. She wrapped her arm around Emily's waist and walked with her back into the hallway. Lucy followed them because she felt pity for Emily. It pained her to see her friend in that current situation.
 
Kimberly rubbed Emily's chick. She saw fear while looking deep into her eyes. Kimberly spoke softly, “Emily, I know you are scared. I don't blame you. Presently, try to understand that leaving this place won't do us any good. For that, I assure you that if your condition escalates, then we'll have no other choice but to cut our holiday short and return home.”
 
“It is not my intention to cut our holiday short,” replied Emily. “I hate to steal any happiness from you. I will do as you have said. I will keep calm until the day passes.”
 
“Can we go back into the bedroom?” inquired Lucy.
 
Kimberly replied, “Patrick confirmed that the rats have been exterminated. I guess it's safe. Unless of course he missed some.”
 
“I am not taking any chances,” announced Lucy. She peeped back into the kitchen, and called Thomas.
 
“Yes, what do you need?” asked Thomas when he stood in the hallway.
 
“We require you to check if there are any rats or cockroaches in our bedroom.”
 
“Fine,” agreed Thomas.
 
He led the girls back into their bedroom after surveying the room. “See there are no rats. I guess Patrick did quite a good job. I will be with George if you need me.”
 
“Wait before you go…” called Kimberly. “The situation has changed. We don't know where Patrick came from…”
 
“Are you too doubting him?” interrupted Thomas.
 
“Just listen to me. We don't know where Patrick came from. Maybe he is telling us the truth, or possibly, he might be lying. I don't mean to sound rude, but there is no way I am trusting someone who appeared out of nowhere.”
 
“Why are you sounding like Emily. What is wrong with you?” roared Thomas.
 
Kimberly persisted, “Nothing is wrong with me. You saw Emily's reaction earlier. Do you want her to stay here in fear? I wouldn't want her condition to worsen. I have decided that tomorrow Emily and I will cut our holiday short. You can inform George about the sudden change in plans. And yes, we do have a lot of food we bought on the road. It will be enough for everyone. So I advise you not to eat anything prepared by Patrick.”
 
Thomas was puzzled, “What do you mean by that?” he asked.
 
“How much do you trust Patrick?"
 
Thomas had no answer. He was stationary for a while before walking out of the room.
 
 
“This Patrick guy must love his job. For as far as I’m concerned, this bedroom is neat as a pin,” said Lucy.
 
“Yes,” Kimberly agreed. “I see no dirt as well. I hope the other rooms are as clean as this room.”
 
Emily commented, “But this doesn’t change the fact that this place is not as we expected. You saw what it looked like when we drove past the gate.”
 
“Relax,” Lucy began. “George already gave us his word. He will call his friend; and when his friend happens to show up, you can go back home with him while we enjoy some quiet time here. It won't be long before we get back to class and enslaved by the lecturers."
 
As Kimberly was unpacking, she came across the music box.
 
“How did this get in here?” Kimberly wondered aloud.
 
“How did what get into where?” inquired Lucy as she stood beside the suitcase and gazed at the music box.
 
Kimberly explained, “This music box was given to me by a certain fortune-teller at the Family World Park. She said something about doing the right thing.”
 
Lucy was curious, ‘What does that mean?”
 
“It's too boring to tell and too complex to explain,” replied Kimberly.
 
She placed the music box on the table beside the bed.
 
“This music box matches the furniture. It's like it belongs here,” said Lucy. Kimberly never paid attention to what Lucy said.
 

***
 

Emily was isolated in her room, luckily she was not alone; Kimberly kept her company throughout her session of fear until she genuinely calmed down. Lucy was not in the bedroom with Emily and Kimberly; she was having a nice time with the boys in the livingroom.  Patrick kept them entertained by showcasing his talents and abilities. He was like a magician who dazzled his audience with jaw-dropping tricks.
 
Soon, Emily and Kimberly joined the boys in the livingroom. Initially, Emily desired to be locked in her room, but she was discouraged by Kimberly that the isolation would do her more bad than good because her mind was already soaked up with fear.
 
Watching Patrick perform his tricks did not change Emily's decision to cut her holiday short. But again she felt bad that Kimberly would also have to cut her holiday. Acting upon her decision would cause her friends to think as though she is selfish. At that moment, her mind was troubled, she couldn't decide on what would be better; whether to stay or return home with guilt in her heart.
 
Emily saw Kimberly smiling back at her. Emily was filled with guilt because she recalled how she had talked Kimberly into confronting her parents about the holiday. She smiled back and thought to herself: “I will give this place a second chance. I will be strong.”
 
Shadows were cast as darkness began to consume the light in the sky. George yawned. Thomas yawned; and a tear ran down his chick. The boys were tired, and so were the girls. Patrick did not prepare any meal for his guests because they had declined. He could see the exhaustion in the drowsy eyes of his guests and thought it would be better to release them because they needed rest.
 
Patrick announced, "I can see that you are tired. I will take a last patrol around the hotel to ensure that you all have a good night sleep. You will not have any reason to be awakened in a sudden manner as you were this morning. You can rest assured that no such thing will occur.” He excused himself and walked upstairs.
 
Patrick walked in the hallway, rolling his eyes from side to side. He saw that the girl's bedroom door was wide open, he halted and was about to close the door when he saw a music box on the table. He pulled the doorknob slowly trying to shut the door, but was overtaken by curiosity. Furthermore, he desired to see the music box up close, but was discouraged after hearing a voice behind him:
 
“What are you doing here?”
 
Patrick looked over his shoulder to see the source of the voice. He was looking into Emily's sleepy eyes.
 
"Forgive me madam, I was only admiring the music box. Is it perhaps yours?”
 
Emily retorted, “No offense, but It's none of your business?”
 
“Sorry, I was only curious,” Patrick replied politely.
 
Emily, however, was insolent, “I don’t care whether you were curious or not, this is a restricted area for you. You don't go inside the bedroom without our permission. Have you perhaps forgotten your manners?”
 
“Please forgive my curiosity, I'll attempt to control it next time,” replied Patrick and continued his patrol in the hallway.
 
Emily thought Patrick was a thief disguised as a butler on a mission to steal from her and her friends. She thought it would be better to hide the music box from Patrick. She shoved the music box back into Kimberly's bag and zipped the zipper.
 
It wasn't long before Lucy and Kimberly joined Emily in the bedroom. They found her asleep and snoring quietly.
 
George and Thomas retired to bed after Patrick assured them of safety. Patrick was offered a bed space, but he declined, saying the hotel had many rooms; he would choose any of them to be his bedroom but would not share a bed with a guest.
 
At 12:50 am, lights in the girl's bedroom began to flicker, waking up Emily. She found it odd that the light would flicker while the light switch was off. She rolled out of bed, dragged herself to the light switch: she flipped it several times before the light finally went off.
 
She dragged herself back on the bed to sleep. Few moments later, she heard the bedroom door open. Then the light switched on once again, furthermore, she heard loud footsteps pattering towards her. Her heart pounded loudly; she could hear it on her chest. Sweat drizzled down her face and made the sheet wet, her hands was clothed by goose bumps. Turning her heard slowly to the sound of the footsteps; she saw Rose: a woman wearing a bloody white dress. Her face was covered by her long and silky hair. Her skin was pale and ugly and was patterned with wounds. You could see the blood streaming from her wound and dripping onto the wooden floor.
 
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Authors Note: Cheers that you have made it to Chapter 8. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Please don't hesitate to drop a comment and let me know your view, or you can give it a vote; otherwise I appreciate your support.