In Death We're Gods

Chapter 2: Luke

Chapter 2: Luke

That's it. I don't like this Dari girl.

She's weird.

I get up and stalk out of the room. I turn left when I hit the corridor. There is going to be a logical explanation to all of this. I'm going to find it and it will all make perfect sense.

I look over my shoulder. Dari follows me, but doesn't try to stop me. She just hovers behind at a safe distance.

She's weird. Too weird.

The corridor leads me to another corridor. I take another left, marching past rows of old wooden doors.

One of them's ajar and through the doorway I catch a glimpse of a dark marble room with an altar in the centre identical to the one I woke up in.

I give up on the room and stalk on.

The corridor opens up onto a hall that resembles a cafe, or hotel lobby. Everything looks fancy and in great condition, but all the furniture is mismatched. Right next to me there's a sitting area with fancy leather couches  and armchairs next to a classic glass coffee table. A little way away I spot another sitting area with blue and yellow striped sofa on wooden legs surrounded bean bags. There are several tables and chairs scattered throughout like leftover sets from various cafés.

At the far edge I spot a bar.

So, I'm at a weird hotel with nobody around except a little dark-haired boy. He can't be older than five. He wears grey joggers and a teal polo shirt with a smiley face plastered over the front. His sitting on an overstuffed pink armchair.

But when I walk in he jumps to his feet and then kind of struts towards me, hands on his hips.

He glares at me, so I glare back. Then he looks past me at Dari. "We've got a Novi?"

"He doesn't believe me," I hear her say behind me.

"You didn't believe me neither," the little boy says. He's got one weird accent. Dari sounds like she's from Manchester, this kid sounds like he's from an old Micky Mouse film.

I skirt around him, certain that beyond the bar I'd find reception.

"Hey kid!" the little boy shouts after me. "You won't find what you're looking for. You better take a seat before you hurt yourself."

What is wrong with this place? Why is a little child calling me a kid?

I pass the bar and find two marble staircases, one leading up, the other down.

Dari leans against the banister between both.

"Down will take you to our living quarters, gardens and grounds. Up...you're not ready to go up yet."

I open my mouth to say something. She had been clearly standing behind me. She must've slunk away through a side passage to pass me. That was it. That was how she got here first.

I inhale sharply through my nose and begin climbing the stairs.

The child materialises in front of me. "She really meant it, Novi," he says. "You don't want to go up there. It'll be a very bad beginning for you."

I have no idea where he came from, but I can tell that Dari isn't going to just let me go upstairs.

She grabs my wrist. "Let's just talk this through first, Luke?"