Hall Of Nightmares

Hotel California

Click. Click. Click. Click.

The russian roulette wheel hovered to a stop above a black 10.

The stale air barely circulated through the high ceilings and the crowded casino. The crystal chandeliers shone unfalteringly in all their brilliance and yet each corner was dark and occupied by sinister shadows. The occupants of the casino, solely men, played their games with a maddened obsession. Their eyes hollowed and faces gaunt, they placed silent bets and shuffled noiseless cards. One man’s foot tapped restlessly against the plush velvet carpet. A foot that hadn’t stopped tapping since the moment he sat down to a table of blackjack.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

The russian roulette wheel hovered to a stop above the black 10.

A warm breeze floated through the room, yet not one head turned nor one eye roamed. Just as quickly as the breeze had come and gone, the temperature chilled, but this time one set of shoulders shivered. The owner of those shoulders sat at the russian roulette table. The shiver reached his arms and then his face. His strong jaw line trembled, his thin pink lips pursed and his nose quivered. His deep blue eyes snapped upward from behind thick black frames and landed upon magnificence. His cranial commands halted abruptly, re-winded, replayed and halted again. He began to process her; her luscious blonde locks, pale smooth skin and the long blood red, deeply v-necked dress. Her face went in and out of focus; one moment disturbingly clear with deep red lips and piercing black eyes and a blurry fuzz the next.

She stared back at him, unblinkingly. Her skinny porcelain fingers ran across the back of the man she stood behind. The man’s eyes abandoned their natural greens and looked up, consumed by a pitch black. His stare traveled behind his shoulder and collided with a chilling cloud of fragranced air. He turned back to his game, shuffled his cards and pulled out his Queen of Hearts.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

The russian roulette wheel hovered to a stop above a black 10.

His obsessive routine interrupted, the roulette man searched frantically, unable to cope with the sudden absence of the interruption. His mouth convulsed forming silent words. his lips froze when his vision landed once again upon her.

She watched him from atop the grandiose casino stairs. When his eyes found her, she sauntered down the stairs slowly trailing her delicate fingers on the wooden banister. At the bottom, she smiled a detached smile. Then...she flickered out of existence.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

The russian roulette wheel hovered to a stop above a black 10.

The roulette mans’ torso shook and his forever fastened grip on the table loosened. His body quivered, deprived of the sensations she had stirred within him; sensations that aroused a dark writhing creature deep inside of him. His brain had momentarily been assaulted by a cacophony of sounds, smells and feelings. Now, she had left and taken with her the fodder that aroused his beast.

She watched him from behind, head cocked. Then, she came forward and her fingers closed upon his shoulder and her nails dug into the fabric of his blazer. His body froze and his head rotated in an owlish manner until he laid eyes upon her. Again she vanished.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

The russian roulette wheel hovered to a stop above a black 10.

Abruptly he stood, his eyes frantically dissecting the crowd, looking for those immaculate long blonde locks. She appeared in front of him, running through the men. His polished shoes detached from the floor and he followed her. The men unconsciously parted as she passed through but then closed in again as soon as she had passed. He scrambled after her, arms flailing at his sides, attempting to push the men out of his path. She looked at him over her shoulder and he stumbled. He ran drunkenly, stumbling and tripping.

She stopped and to face his body crashing through the men. Then...she blinked.

He tripped for the final time and crumpled to the carpeted floor. His eyelids closed and he truly saw her. She opened her mouth, an all consuming black hole. “You can check out, but you can never leave” reverberated through his skull. Then everything went pitch black, as if his plug had been pulled out of the socket.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

The russian roulette wheel spun to a stop upon a red 1.

The blackjack man shuffled his cards and pulled out his Queen of Hearts. A young man in a black blazer sat in the empty seat at the russian roulette table and placed his bet. Cards shuffled noiselessly and silent bets were placed. Every man’s obsession remained undisturbed. The stale air resettled and the chandeliers continued to glow.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

The russian roulette wheel spun to a stop upon the red 1.