Twisted Skin

THE HOTEL LUNA

"Back to square one, then."

This room was as empty as any other. She couldn't believe it. Mary Elena slipped her stake back through two belt loops and lowered herself to the rumpled covers of the bed.

"All this, for nothing."

With idle hand she picked at the plate her father had left. The food still looked fresh, and her stomach complained of how sorely it needed a taste. Though the salad leaves looked wilted, they were far better than nothing. Pensively she chewed, and thought hard about what move to make next.

"Since the window's open, it's probable Dad slipped out. He did say those things were coming for him, and those marks in the wallpaper make it a pretty safe bet that they found him. If that was the case, I doubt he'd stick around." She frowned at the gloom beyond the glass. "No, I reckon he's out there somewhere. Probably hiding somewhere new. I just wish he'd left me a sign, or given me another call so I wouldn't worry. Unless..."

He couldn't. A thought she shook fast from her head.

"Guess all that's left is to wait 'til morning. Best case scenario, the light'll make any evidence left behind a bit easier to see and I'll follow from there. Worst case, I go back to the car and get my tracking gear to try and pick up some kind of trail."

Neither was ideal. Both involved waiting until morning, and anything could happen from hour to hour. By the time morning came, her father could well be dead.

"I can't just sit here, can I?"

She stood, wrung hands, and peered again through the window. What would she accomplish by running around in the dark and the wet? What would she find when the downpour battered and blinded her so?

"I've got to try. He's my Dad. I can't just leave him hanging."

Her body had other ideas. As soon as she stood up, her head grew foggy and her stomach flooded with sludge. Mary Elena teetered on her feet, near toppled more than once, for each step she attempted was a stagger that lurched her this way and that, and the contents of her stomach roiled as furiously as a stormy sea. Could not even reach the door before she hit her knees.

"Fine." She gagged. The taste of iron stuck thick at the back of her throat. "Bath, then bed. I'll start fresh tomorrow morning."

A perfect idea, she thought. There were few better ways she knew to settle frayed nerves than a long, hot, bubbly bath. It wouldn't ease her mind entirely of this night's step back in time, nor make her forget the matter of her father and the potential danger he was in, but she would be happy enough if it could soothe mind and body long enough to get a little sleep. She perched upon the edge of the grimy tub and stretched across to turn the tap on.

While hot water thundered the tub's bottom, Mary Elena took a moment to sit with head between legs and hands over her face. Rubbed her eyes, then her temples, but nothing could clear her head. It grew only heavier and foggier by the moment, until the very room felt to be wobbling all around her. Stomach fared no better, either. Though it made no move to shoot its contents back up her throat, she could feel its slick hand creeping there, sickening her, but never quite enough for her body to do anything about it.

"That's what I get for running around in the rain like an idiot. Or maybe there was something up with the food?"

Not her smartest move, she knew, but in a dead town and a hotel without staff, what other choice had she had?