Hotel Le Grand

xiii

"We need to leave," I said, pulling out of Levi's comforting hug. Everyone was sitting in the room, looking at their hands while the bodies lay on the floor, soaking into the carpet. "Now."

"Temp..."

"No. We need to go now. I feel like something's coming." I limped to Jared and bit my lip, patting his pants pockets until I felt the bulge of the car keys. I pulled them out and clutched them to my chest, "We don't have that long."

Faye looked up from where she was burying her face in Jace's arms, "How you know?"

I shook my head and went to Violet, who was curled up in a ball in the corner, tears streaking down her face still. Violet was never one to cry unless it was a serious problem, and the fact that she was bawling brought a sense of dread to my heart. "Vi, are you okay? Can you walk?"

She nodded and wiped the back of her hand across her cheek, smearing the mascara that dripped down her face.

"Okay." I sighed and started towards the door, "Guys. I just wanna say that we don't know what other nightmares are going to show up, but we need to fight our way out. No one else is dying." Then I opened to door and looked out into the empty hall. "It's empty. Cmon."

We all cautiously walked out into the hall, our nerves on end while the quietly walked towards the elevator and the stairway. Levi took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. The bruises on his neck from the monster choking him were so dark, and shaped like a pair of hands, the fingers wrapped around the front of his neck. "I love you," He mouthed, gently knocking into me with his shoulder.

I smiled and mouthed the same, leaning against his upper arm. Part of me was sad that we'd lost Kayla and Jared, but another part of me was glad it wasn't Levi or myself.

And I felt terrible for thinking that.

Right as we approached the elevator, it suddenly dinged and slide open. We all froze, preparing for whatever was in there to come charging out, ready to kill. But inside the elevator was nothing but the mirrored walls, golden railing, and beige carpeting. We all stared at it, contemplating whether or not to trust the thing.

Levi was the one to make the decision. "Okay, the people in the horror movies who get into the haunted elevator usually die. We're taking the stairs." He pulled me to the stairs and pulled on the door, scowling when it refused to open. He released my hand and placed both on the door, yanking sharply when he suddenly let out a yell, jumping back. I jumped, looking at my boyfriend in alarm while he waved his hands in the air, hissing and swearing.

"Babe?" I asked, and he looked at me. That was when I saw his hands. They were now an angry red, covered in large blisters and throbbing. He groaned, holding them to his body while I limped over, "Oh no."

He cracked a pained smile, "It's no big deal. Doesn't even hurt at all!"

"Sure," I murmured, rolling my eyes a bit while I gently lifted his hands, trying not to touch any of the throbbing blisters. "It's a second degree burn. We need to wrap it so it doesn't get anything on it." Looking at the group, I pointed to Jace, "Tear off your sleeves for me."

"Wha-" He began to question but I held up my hand.

"Just do it."

Jace grumbled, letting go of Faye to tear his sleeves off his shirt. He handed the fabric to me and watched he wrap it around Levi's hands, wincing when he let out a hiss when I touched the blisters.

"Okay." I said, turning to look at the elevator. "Looks like we don't have a choice here."

"Just wonderful," Faye frowned. "We're all gonna die here."

"That's the spirit!" Forcing a smile onto my face, I walked to the elevator and took a step inside, flinching when I remember the little girl saying there was a monster in there. "Okay guys, I think we're okay."

Everyone slowly followed me inside, cautiously looking at the buttons on the wall. I pursed my lips and scratched my hand, "Lobby?" When no one answered, I sighed and jammed my thumb onto the lobby button, watching it light up red.

We all slouched back, our eyes drifting to the screen that told us the floor.

6...

5...

4...

3...

2...

The elevator came to a screeching halt as the screen hit one. We froze, waiting for the doors to open and reveal whatever horror may wait just outside the automated doors.

Nothing happened.

We were suddenly trapped in the elevator.

"Guys," Violet whispered, her eyes focused intently on the ceiling. "Look."

Our eyes drifted away from the door and looked at the plain, white ceiling of the elevator. The ceiling, instead of being a pristine white, had a red puddle forming in the center. The puddle grew and grew and grew until it took up the entire ceiling. The red suddenly began to flow down the walls like an overfilled glass, dripping onto the floor and collecting around our feet.

Screams erupted from everyone's mouths as we rushed the door, slamming our fists into the metal. The red sloshed around with each of our movements, splashing our faces and clothes.

"Going down," A voice suddenly said, echoing through the small room. "Enjoy your ride!"

"No!" I yelled, turning to look around. It was then that I spotted the little black camera nestled in the corner. Filled with a sudden rage, I began to shriek at the thing, telling whoever it belonged to, to go rot in hell.

The disembodied voice from earlier let out a cackle, "This is hell."

Then the elevator flooded with red much quicker then before, the stuff now up to our midriffs as we continued to pound away on the door.

I gave up when the red reached my neck, looking at Levi and the rest of my friends. They all stopped to look too, their eyes filled with sorrow.

This was it.

This was the end.

We were all going to die in this hotel hell.

And the red swallowed us whole.