Auntie's Hotel

Chapter 20 The Promise

The door opened into a hallway lit by candles lined up along the wood framed walls. Each 8 foot section presented an art piece, busts of some person, neither of them knew, statues of what could've been a greek or roman figure, god or goddess, and ornately designed oil lantern with tiny lamp shades. The wood of the walls stretched to the ceiling and along the length of the hall toward a tall window, which invited the daylight in, making the burning candles pointless. The crimson red carpet sprawled out in front of them, where silence and choices confronted them.

"Come in," the hallway offered as a more pleasing guest than what had been present the previous night.

Brian looked at Jaimie. She was worried with doubt spread across her face. She nodded that she was ready. He was freaked by this too. There was no way of knowing what was behind each of the doors. There was no way of guaranteeing they would find a way out, but he led her along.

"Don't be fooled by the appearance," she said. "It's not as promising as it seems."

As they walked along the crimson carpet, Jaimie found herself running her fingers along the gashes and cuts in the wood that she could see. Brian, on the other hand, could not see these grooves. He watched her study the impressions, but could make out anything.

"We need to move faster," he told her. "I don't like the silence in this place." He snatched his pistol from his hip and aimed it out in front of him. There was no immediate threat to point it at. There was no perp to chase. There was only the promise that this strange universe they were in could go from pleasant to crap storm at any moment.

"Let's find your kids and get out of here," he urged.

Near the end of this hallway, another hall led off to their right. There were several windows, which cast light on the walls. The wood here was slightly faded from the years of exposure to the rays of the sun. There were also indents where doors might belong, but the wall appeared to continue on.

"Where are the doors?" he asked.

"They are there," she said. "It may not look like it, but they are there."

"No handles?" he asked.

"You're not supposed to leave the rooms at night," she replied. "I don't remember if there were handles there when I went in. I'm not even sure there are handles on the inside. The door just kind of... opens?"

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's her," she said as she turned toward what caught her attention through the window. An old woman stood near her wheelchair, having just stood up. Jaimie's children stood on either side of her. "I saw... there..." she pointed.

The frail body of the old woman changed form. She didn't turn into an animal or a beast, but she gained mass as she turned away from them. She became a full body. Instead of the remnants of a skeletal-thin body, just barely strong enough to hold herself up on her own, she was large enough to have muscle and cellulite throughout. As she walked away from them, the two children standing next to her also followed.

"I know who that is," she said with her eyes fixed on the three of them. She needed to know where she was going. How could she get to them? Those were her children,

"Who is it?" Jensen asked.

"She's the one who checked us in to this place when we came on our first night," she responded. "Why does she have my children?"

"I don't know why she has them, but now we know where we need to go or who we need to find. Let's get them and get out of this place."

"I don't think this is going to be easy," Jaimie's voice trailed off as she turned away from the window and the tall slender form of Victor stood there a few paces in front of them. It startled her and she gasped.