The Hotel at the End of Time

Chapter 13 - Vain struggles with minor details.

Vain hopped into the passenger side of the SUV. The scared red-headed woman from the hospital got in the driver's seat and attempted to put the keys in the ignition with shaking hands.

"Hey," Vain said. "They're gone for now. We're good." She gave a thumbs-up. Her face ached with bruises, and her hands trembled with exhaustion, but she was alive. Alive, and she saved this woman from the Wyatts, and now she had a vehicle. Aces. This whole thing was turning into a real plus.

The red-headed woman took a few breaths and closed her eyes. She didn't say anything for several moments, and Vain used the time to look around the vehicle's interior. Maybe the Wyatts left a clue behind, something to use against them; but aside from stale food wrappers and crumpled newspaper on the floor, there wasn't much.

When the woman opened her eyes, the shaking had stopped.

"Where are we going?"

"West," Vain said without hesitation. That's where Roman was. "Keep going out of Boston and head West."

The car started, and they drove around the back of the parking lot and onto the main road.

"Can you please tell me what's going on? Who were those men? Who are you? Why is this happening? Why were you so crazy at the hospital?" The woman seemed bothered by something, although Vain couldn't fathom what. She was totally, one hundred percent un-kidnapped by Wyatts. She should be grinning from ear to ear.

"Crazy?" replied Vain. "I warned you. I was trying to help."

"For future reference, coming up to someone in an emergency room, grabbing their wrist, and telling them they are about to be kidnapped by duplicate men reads higher on the 'crazy' scale than it does on the 'helpful' scale. Just, you know, an FYI."

Vain chewed on that unhelpful and unwelcome feedback, trying to figure out how to respond. The woman glanced over. "I'm Emma, by the way. Thank you for helping me."

"I'm Vain."

Emma blinked and positioned the rear-view mirror so it showed Vain her reflection. "Is that better?"

Vain shook her head. "My name. My actual name is Vain."

"Are you, like, a street artist?"

Vain sighed. "I'm just me."

"How did you know who those men were? How did you know they were after me?"

"They're not men," replied Vain. "They're things. Their name is Wyatt. Their only job is to find people like you and take them back to a place called the Hotel. It's a place I escaped from."

"How are they all called Wyatt? Why do they look the same?"

"They're from alternate Earths." Vain waved her hand, shooing away the explanation.

"I don't believe you," Emma said. "I'm sorry. I know I'm supposed to humor crazy, but I'm exhausted. Please tell me the truth."

"How about this? You go first. Explain how you threw a person with your mind in a way that doesn't violate a couple dozen natural laws, and once you're done, I'll come up with a better explanation for duplicate psychopaths from various incarnations of Earth."

Vain didn't mean to raise her voice, but she couldn't understand why Emma expected her to have all the answers. Same as everyone else, she was trying her best. Emma, for her part, clutched the steering wheel with her eyes fixed on the road. She opened and closed her mouth a few times. Finally, she took a deep breath.

She started to cry.

It wasn't big, heaving sobs; more like the broken weeping of abject misery. She made gulping noises and squinched her eyes.