He Strikes at the Hotel

Chapter Five

I slammed the door shut. Shutting out everything. "What just happened?" I questioned myself, looking down sombrely to the tea tray balancing in my hands. "And I didn't even get any wine... Tea will have to suffice I suppose." I gave myself a slight eye roll and headed towards my chair, where I spent the rest of the evening fantasising about today, how I could have made a better impression, how I could have not bumped into the Duke in the kitchen, and how I could have investigated what was going on in the basement.

My eyes began to get heavy. All this thought drained what was left of my energy, and I left half the pot of tea to go cold as I got ready for bed. I jumped into bed, wrapping the covers around me. They were so cosy; I wriggled round just to relish in my comfort, then decided on a spot to sink my head into within the mass of pillows that were systematically huddled at the top of my bed. My eyes closed and my mind went along with them, as I drifted off into a deep sleep, which seemed clouded with a whirlwind of thoughts that turned into decadent dreams.

I had a dream about the Duke.

He was humming outside my room, with his steps sounding quite scattered and misplaced. He was calling my name, over and over again... It was obvious he had finished that bottle of Chardonnay. I opened the door to him, but he was gone. I could still hear his voice calling my name; it sounded heavenly coming from his lips, and sent a shiver up my spine. I looked up and down the hall, but no one was there, only emptiness and his deep voice. "Audrey Rose, where are you?" The voice called, tempting me to go find the source, which of course was a very drunk Duke. I sighed and let out a small giggle, and went down the hall to find where he was hiding and then tell him to get back to his room, as he was making a fool of himself. It was strange that the hall was bright, light was leaking in from every corner. It shone a golden yellow, which seemed to dazzle more the further I went. This wasn't right... it was late and this kind of light was impossible... "Zachery, where are you?" I called out, "This isn't funny anymore, I'd like to go back to my room and for you to do the same." I said this sternly, although I could sense that my voice was beginning to crack, giving away my hesitance.

The lights began to flicker. The light in the hallway started shutting off from wherever it came from, section by section, starting from the end farthest away from me.

Click.

Another light off. I stood there in disbelief.

Click.

That's the next light out... "Right, I can see where this is going, and I don't like it, so I'm going to gracefully retreat back to my room, I wish you all the best." I said this quite matter-of-factly and wasn't speaking to anyone in particular when I wished them well, I just thought leaving on good terms would be in my best interest.

I was wrong.

I turned round to a split second of light, before a loud CLICK... And everything went suddenly black. It was dead silent. No humming. No calling of my name. Only my heavy breathing, and what seemed like someone else's...

"GET OUT!" The voice roared, shaking the world around me. I opened my mouth about to scream as loud as I possibly could when...

I woke up.

My vision was blurred from sleep, with my heart pounding as if it were trying to escape me. I couldn't blame it; I wanted to escape from me too right now.