Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Chapter One

Magdalena

It's dark and it's raining. The cab has just dropped me off at the curb of a fancy hotel. I usually don't splurge on hotels, but after the eleven-hour flight I've just been on and the news I've just received, I think I deserve a good night of sleep and a bit of pampering. By pampering I mean room service and a nice warm bath, since I'll need to figure out the next steps in my life tomorrow. I definitely won't be able to stay at this hotel for long when I have to find a new apartment and put down a new deposit now that my originally rented apartment fell through. Actually, it didn't really fall through. I got scammed like the damn idiot that I am.

Just an hour ago, I showed up at the given address my apparently fake landlord sent me just to find out the apartment is already resided in by a family who knew nothing of the landlord or the contract, nor where my money has gone. The family was nice enough to direct me to this nearby hotel, which always has a room or two available at all times because of the price.

The streets are mostly quiet apart from the music that seems to be coming from the back of the hotel. Judging from the number of expensive cars parked on the street, and the people dressed in fancy clothing in the lobby of the hotel, I'm assuming there is a big party going on inside. I stand a few minutes extra outside the hotel to breathe in the fresh air and smoke a cigarette before checking in, except I can't seem to find my lighter. I must have misplaced it somehow. I know I've got an extra in my suitcase, but I'm not going to start unpacking it on the street. This day has been nothing but one obstacle after another. Just as I am about to grab my suitcase to head towards the entrance of the hotel, a couple of well-dressed men come walking out from behind the hotel. I assume they are guests of the party considering their suits and glasses of what I assume is liquor.

One of the four men is lighting a cigarette whilst the others are murmuring quietly to each other as if they are afraid someone might hear what they are saying. They come to a stop on the same pavement I'm standing on, and they cast a few quick glances my way. It's hard to make out their faces, so I can't assume their ages, but they all have the bodies of Hercules, which makes me second guess my thoughts on asking to borrow a lighter. I don't know much about American people or their hospitality, but I guess I'll be an idiot one last time today and take my chances. Time to pull up my big bitch pants and be socially stable enough to ask for something as simple as a light for my cigarette. I grab my suitcase and begin walking towards the group.

As I'm nearing them, the sudden screeching of tires brings me to a halt. I turn my head towards the street just as two dark vans come speeding around the corner of the next block. The sliding doors of the vans open and I observe the barrels of what looks like guns sticking out. This is bad, awful. It feels like I'm watching everything in slow motion, even though the entire ordeal can't possibly have lasted more than thirty seconds. A bunch of masked people come pouring out of the vans as they spray bullets at the hotel. I throw myself to the ground, trying to take cover behind my suitcase as if that's going to save me. I don't see much more than that because a cloth suddenly covers my mouth and the world around me turns black.