THE LABYRINTH: TRIAL TO SALVATION

Chapter 1: The Hotel

James woke up to the sound of a knock. His eyes were met with golden wallpaper, fancy and classy. And dirty. James sat up, not knowing where he was. He looked around. Everything was covered in dirt and dust, and a few cockroaches roamed freely. Yet if you were to remove all of that, you would be standing in the most classy, luxurious hotel you have ever been in. The bed James woke up in was by the wall the door was on. To the right was a shelf, made of dark oak. Real dark oak. And probably empty. James couldn't tell due to all the webs and cobwebs. And further ahead, across the room from James and a little to the right, was the entrance to what looked like a bathroom. In the center was a small dining table, as if made for one person. James noted the room was very dimly lit. Where in the Hell was he?...

James stood up as the knock was heard again. James cautiously walked over to the door, not knowing what to expect. He peered through the peephole, but found it to be covered in so much dirt and dust it was literally impossible to see anything. James decided to slowly open the door.

There, in the dimly lit hallway, stood a man in a red, fancy, dirty doorman outfit. He was holding a silver platter, which was the exact opposite of literally everything in the hotel James has seen so far: shiny, clean, and looked even better than new. But none of that was what caught James' initial attention.

It was the gas mask the man was wearing. The man wore what appeard to be a gas mask from World War Two. Odd. Things like that were hard to find nowadays, in 2084. Then again, James realized the whole hotel felt old-timesy. Who was this man?...

"Hello, sir Kenway," Said the Doorman. He had an English accent, muffled by the mask. His lenses was covered in so much dust you couldn't make out his eyes under them. "I have brought you dinner. The other guests have already woken up. So if you can meet them downstairs in the dining room that would be very appreciated."

The Doorman was a gentleman, like a actual doorman. James took the silver platter from the man. Who was he? Why was he wearing a gas mask? Was it allergies to the dust perhaps? Maybe this was all a dream or nightmare?...

The Doorman turned and left down the hall. The hallway was long, and the room James was in was one of the ones closest to the grand yet dusty staircase. The floor was covered by a red carpet that was probably once beautiful and stunning.

Now it was covered in, you guessed it, dust and dirt. There were doors along the hall too, evenly spaced and in-between them were little candle lights. They really didn't help the dim lighting.

James took the platter and shut the door. He set the thing down on the table, taking the lid off. Inside was steak, green beans, and mashed potatoes with gravy. Simple. But the food looked as if prepared by the best five-star chef in the world. Everything.

James, both out of hunger and the fact the food looked that good, began to eat it with the fork and knife that was set aside on the platter.

When he finished, he stood up and looked around. There was really nothing here for him to look at, so James opened the door and stepped into the hallway, making his way to the grand staircase. It was made of marble, which if course was now dusty and dirty, and had the same red carpeting. At the bottom of the massive staircase was a huge lobby, the floor also made of marble and carpeted with the same red carpet. At the end of the lobby was a massive revolving door. At the bottom of the staircase was a desk, probably for administering guests. Next to the desk was a entrance to what appeared to be the dining room. On the wall next to it, close to the entrance, was another entrance. It appeared to lead to a old fashioned theatre, with the black and white movies, movie projector, all of it. James walked into the dining room.

It was also massive, and was carpeted by a dark red carpet this time. It was even more dim in here than the rest of the hotel, but you were still able to see. To the left of the entrance on the inside was a wooden bar counter, stools lining it and shelves of alcohol lining the wall behind it. There was no bar tender. To the left was the rest if the dining room, with circular tables, all draped with white bit dirty table cloth. The end of the rows of tables was a massive stage, also made of dark oak. At the bar was two people.

One of them was a Asian lady, Japanese. Short black hair, young, piercing blue eyes, pale, soft skin, good build, and dressed in a black leather coat with jeans and shoes. She sat close to the entrance and looked as if she shouldn't be bothered. James decided not to bother her.

Almost at the center of the counter, about two or three seats off and at least ten seats away from the lady, sat a rugged yet handsome man. Messy black hair, pale skin, average yet strong build, and a short stubble. He wore a t-shirt, blue jeans and some boots. He was drinking, just like the lady. James could also see he had red eyes. James had seen those red eyes somewhere...But he didn't know where...

Since James found the man to be so familiar, he sat next to him. The man turned to him, and spoke in a somewhat gravelly British accent.

"'Ello, mate," He said to James. He didn't know why he was here or how he got here. But seeing a familiar face helped a small bit.

Even if the familiar face was one you were sure you haven't seen before.

The man that just sat down next to him was handsomish, white, black hair and a stubble. The man wore a blue t-shirt and some old jeans, with some old shoes. "Who're you?" The British man continued, still studying the man in the blue t-shirt.

"James," The man with the blue shirt said, "James Kenway. You have any idea why we're here?..."

"'Fraid not," The British man said, "Damn doorman is keepin' that a bloody secret. My name's Simmons by the way. Red Simmons. Probably a wonder why I'm called that, eh?" Red chuckled out that last part, his red eyes darting about. James knew it was an effort to drown out the confusion and fear that consumed them both. James turned and saw a crowd of 7 other people at random tables of the dining room.

At the one closest to them was a cowboy-looking man, with a gray vest, white-collar shirt, jeans, boots and a gray cowboy hat. He had a cigar in his mouth.

About two tables to the left of the man was a long-haired blonde woman. She wore the same thing as Red, except she had on old shoes. She was beautiful, and had blue eyes with fair skin.

James tried to see what the other 5 looked like, but they were too far in the darkness he couldnt.

Suddenly, all the lights went out, and on came two massive spotlights focused on the stage. On the stage now stood the Doorman, who was staring into the darkness with his cold, dusty lenses.

"Hello, all of you," He said with no emotion, "My name is the Doorman. I am the staff of this hotel. You are all sinners. All of you have known each other in some way, and have also hurt someone else in this room as well. You were all brought here by the Keeper of Sins, a demon sent to your world by the Angel. You were all brought to this place to suffer and learn the errors of your ways...

Welcome...to the Labyrinth."