The Hotel at the End of Time

Chapter 8 - Vain does nothing like a huge loser.

Vain sat on a wide, three-person bench, eating a bag of barbecue potato chips and considering her next move. It was dusk, and the sun dipped below the skyline. After the hospital encounter, she followed the Wyatts and the jogger, reasoning that Roman would want to know what happened. For narrative closure. Roman, she reflected, was obsessed with narrative closure. So, here she was, in a quiet part of the city with shoulder-to-shoulder, pencil-thin houses that competed for the largest amount of white trim to circle a window. Most of the pedestrians seemed to be students, judging by the backpacks and oversized headphones.

Vain wondered if she had ever gone to school. She had no real memory of anything before Arthur's Hotel. It was as if her life started the day she woke up in that horrible place, scared, alone, and confused.

She and Roman weren't sure of either of their ages, but they estimated she was somewhere in her late twenties and he was somewhere in his early thirties. There was no way to tell for sure, though. Time didn't work right in the Hotel, and aside from eyeballing it, they had nothing else to go on.

She had a small scar on her elbow, about an inch long, that she would play with anytime she was distracted. The scar didn't have stitch marks; it was a raw, ragged line. She thought the lack of stitch marks was a clue and she tugged at that fact, trying to wring it for every piece of data. Whoever she had been in her previous life, she had cut herself badly enough to leave a scar, but she hadn't gotten it stitched. That meant something. That had to mean something. Did she not have parents who could care for her? Had she not lived close to a hospital? Did she get the scar going to school, like these naïve, shiny-faced kids who walked by, unaware of the world that existed in the shadows?

Roman was, for sure, educated. He was smart and wise, and Vain imagined that was the temperament you got from going to college. She pictured Roman in a school setting, surrounded by kids, learning important things like how to drive a car and how taxes worked. Would he be smoking a pipe? That felt right.

It was time to get back to him. His absence had become an ache, a persistent stitch in her side. No matter how many breaths she took, it never went away. Plus, there seemed to be a great deal of humidity in the air, given how often her eyes filled up at the thought of him, alone and afraid. Boston was apparently a wet hellscape of airborne moisture.

Following a pack of hunting Wyatts was beyond dangerous. And besides, she'd already done more than could be expected by providing the jogger with a precise warning and concrete next steps. Done and done.

The problem was, Roman's world was exclusively made up of things to protect; the thought of leaving a person defenseless would be an anathema to him. Oh, he'd say that he understood and that he was glad Vain was safe. He'd also get that Roman look on his face; the horrible one that said he still loved you, but he was so, so disappointed in you. Damn it.

She slapped her thigh and stood up. She'd have to live with Roman's displeasure, because there was no way to stop that. Across the street, two Wyatts headed into the brownstone building, while one waited out front, leaning against the passenger side of the vehicle.

Within moments, the two Wyatts came back out, the woman sandwiched between them, her legs not quite touching the ground. The one who had stayed outside opened the back door and they threw her into the car. The whole thing took seconds, and unless you were watching as closely as she was, you would have missed it.

Her legs shook and she couldn't seem to catch her breath. That was it, then. Wyatts one, un-kidnapped women, zero. Now they'd take her to the Hotel, wipe her memory, and keep her captive. Like they'd done to Vain. Another life thrown into the garbage. She rubbed her face, unable to look away.

A cab drove by and she surprised herself by raising her arm and flagging it down. It slowed to a stop, and she hopped in the back seat as the red SUV pulled away from the curb.