Hide Seek Kill - A Thriller Novel || Draft One

Five: Zach

Zach Elsher doesn't know which is worse: being stuck in a mansion with these people, or getting lost on his own.

Probably the latter.

He's been wandering these twisted halls for way over fifteen minutes and still hasn't an inkling as to where he is going. At least when he was with the others, he had someone to talk to.

Now, there is only the deafening sound of silence to keep him company. He continues to trudge through the halls, passing door after door, each and every one of them closed.

Wait a minute...he steps back a few paces and smiles. A thick double door is slightly ajar.

Bingo!

Zach cautiously opens it with a loud creak and can't help but gasp at the sight. Before him is the largest library he has ever seen, with multi-story shelves on either of the walls, and a giant floor-to-ceiling window in the back, flooding the room with daylight.

He could spend a lifetime here, and still not even read half of the books. Although he doesn't like to read, Zach is impressed by the vast collection of publications. There's got to be at least over fifty thousand titles.

Exactly how rich is the person that owns this estate?!

He shakes his head in disbelief and runs his fingers across the spines of a row of books, each a different color, a different title, a different font. In the center of the spacious room sits a large oval table with scrolls and textbooks strewn across its surface.

Well, that may be a place to start. Perhaps there's a map of the mansion somewhere and he can find his way out. Zach sucks in a breath through his teeth.

This will take a while.

He's just about to start looking through the books when he hears a crash in the corner. He looks around one of the bookshelves and sees that a blonde-haired woman and a dark-eyed guy are making out. They don't seem to notice him.

Zach coughs, hoping to get their attention. When neither of them seem to hear him, Zach coughs again, though louder.

"Can you give us a minute?" The blonde has a look of disgust on her face, wrinkling her nose at the intruder before going back to playing tonsil hockey with the Italian.

Zach decides it isn't worth it to try to reason with these strangers.

As he's walking away, Zach calls, "Fine. Be like that. Good luck finding your own way out of this stupid mansion."

The blonde shares a look with the brown-eyed guy.

"I guess we can help you. Y'know, seeing as you're lost."

Zach smirks before turning around, "Care to share your name?"

"The name's Vivica, but you might've already known that." The blonde says, flicking a piece of her hair behind her neck, "And Handsome over here is Ricardo."

Ricardo leans against a shelf, crossing his arms. He doesn't look thrilled that Zach is there, but he couldn't care less about how he feels.

"I saw some books and scrolls on the table over there, and I am hoping to find a map," Zach explains. "Help me look?"

Vivica scoffs, "What's in it for me?"

"Getting out of this place sounds like a good reward."

With that final word, Zach starts looking around again. Vivica and Ricardo share a look before they, too, walk over to the table and start to look for a map.