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chapter 2

In the haze of gaining consciousness, the surroundings slowly came into focus. Muffled voices echoed around me. I blinked, trying to shake off the darkness that remained in my vision.

"Hey, you're finally awake!" Sabrina exclaimed, kneeling down next to me, her voice a mix of joy and anxiety.

As my senses returned, I realized that I was lying on the floor, surrounded by my friends. Their faces displayed concern and pity. They were all looking at me like I was an injured street dog.

"How are you feeling?" asked Javed, his brow furrowed with concern.

I groaned, my throat dry and hoarse. "Did I faint again?" I croaked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"What do you mean, 'again'?," said Sabrina, her voice thick with concern, and I shook my head, dismissing her question.

"We were just about to call for help when you woke up." she continued as she helped me get up.

My mind raced, trying to piece together the fragments of memory that remained. I remembered my thoughts being too loud to decipher. And then, darkness.

It didn't feel the same as when I blacked out before. I would usually feel weak and dizzy as a warning sign, so I'd have more than enough time to get to my room and pass out in privacy. This time, it was sudden. But I decided not to think much of it, the human body is strangely unpredictable after all.

"Where are Darren and Jenna?" I asked my friends.

"I'm not sure," Sabrina answered. "They went off somewhere before we came to look for you."

We made our way back to the lounge, after my insistence that I was fine and didn't need rest. I supposed I had to get to terms with the fact that I wouldn't get my money back from that scammer child.

I sat there quietly, zoning out of the conversation. I felt a little off, distant from the world.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out. Darren was calling.

I picked up only to be greeted with a "Get here quick, we found the kid!"

"Where's 'here'?" I asked, my voice heavy with annoyance.

"Um, I think it's near the staircase which leads to the rooms?" It was more of a question than a statement, but I wasn't about to drag this conversation out any further.

"Giddy up guys, we gotta go." I smirked as I got up. Why I was this excited about ambushing a child, I didn't know.

By the time we made it to the staircase, Darren was gone and only Jenna was waiting for us. She gestured for us to follow.

We entered the level below the ground floor. There was simply a door, above which a board said "Employee Accommodation". But we went even lower than that, which was definitely not a good sign. What would a child be doing down here?

"Are we allowed to be down here?" Sabrina asked.

Jenna shushed her, and answered, "Of course not, keep your voice down."

She pushed the doors open and we walked through the corridor as swiftly as possible, while still trying to be as quiet as possible. As we rounded near a corner, I almost bumped into someone walking the opposite way.

I instinctively apologized, but then I looked up to the person and recognized her. My expression instantly transformed from apologetic to irritated. It was that lady from the bar, the blonde one with the British accent. The same lady who felt the need to make fun of a random teenager such as myself.

"You aren't supposed to be here." she stated, like she knew it all. "This is an employee-only area."

"We are employees." Javed stated with full confidence.

She raised one eyebrow and then looked at me. Uh oh. She recognized me, meaning she knew Javed was lying.

"Oh? I don't suppose you're a captain or an engineer, because unless you are, you're still not allowed to be down here." her voice was dripping with authority.

"Okay, fine." I confessed. "But you aren't authorized either, you don't work here."

She folded her arms. "I have permission from the captain."

"Okay, we'll go." I sighed and gave in. "But uh, before that..."

I gave a dramatic pause. She raised her eyebrows and looked at me expectantly.

"Have you seen a little boy around here?" I asked her, hoping to pull dig out details, because from every angle, a child coming down here is bizarre.

"A little boy? No, I can't say I have." she shook her head.

"Now get going." she continued, pointing towards the entrance we came from.

I supposed I had to leave it to Darren, who we hadn't encountered, to find the boy. I had given up hope anyway. I had more money. The reason I wanted to come down here was a desire to see the look on the kid's face when I caught him. Getting my money back was simply a bonus.

Before we could reach the entrance we came from, the lights went out. I wondered if this was a power outage or simply a technical fault in the area. Whatever the matter was, it was way too dark to see in the staircase, so I turned on the flash on my phone. My friends did the same and we slowly ascended the stairs.

However, when we made it to the ground level, the door wouldn't budge.

"Push harder." Jenna said. I did exactly that, but it still wouldn't open.

"Let me try, your skeletal arms will break." Javed scoffed. He rattled the door handle multiple times, but it still wouldn't open.

I hesitated for a moment. "Is it locked?" I asked. He shrugged, taking a glance at each of one us.

"Let's go find some help." Jenna suggested. And so we made our way back down the stairs we came from.