The Hotel at the End of Time

Chapter 17 - Roman takes a nap.

The bus rumbled and bounced across the weather-stripped highway. Roman rested with his head against the window, not paying attention to the landscape as it sped by. Every time he blinked, it took a little longer to open his eyes again.

After the fight with Trick, his escape from the safe house had been refreshingly anti-climactic. He sprinted through white-picket suburban streets until he hopped on a local bus that took him to a central terminal. From there, he used the money in Trick's stolen wallet to buy himself a ticket to the only place available to him, now that Vain was dead.

Minnesota.

His jaw cracked with a huge yawn and he nestled in closer to the side of the bus, trying to find a comfortable spot. The next blink pulled him under for seconds. It had been so long since he'd seen them, the others he and Vain escaped with. How would they react when he walked through the door? The flight from the Hotel had been horrible and he tried not to dwell on it, but it was hard to stop. Each blink dropped him further into the memory of that horrible experience.

Blink.

Blink.

Bl-

*

"-ink we should wait."

"What?" Roman kept his voice below a whisper.

"I said, I think we should wait," Hush repeated.

They hid behind a clump of bushes within the garden at the front of the Hotel. It was night, or at least what passed for night. The lightning-striated skies never darkened. More accurately, it was when most of the Conduits and Utilities slept. There were always a few up and about, roaming the hallways, but this was as quiet as it got.

"No chance," Vain said. "Now or never, Hush."

"There is neither a 'now' or a 'never' in this place, Vain," he snapped back. Still, he nodded, his mouth forming a tight line.

Roman rubbed at his wrist, hardly able to believe Vain figured out how to remove the handcuff Device the Hotel required them to wear. Without it, they could use their powers and stood a chance.

The vibrant green of the bushes and lawn stuck out in vivid contrast to the faded red of the sky and exhausted grey of the barren landscape surrounding the Hotel. The garden acted as a lush paradise, a place for pairs to sit and relax and pass endless minutes in quiet contemplation, reading books or magazines.

The Hotel grounds were immense, easily three miles around. Right up front, near the garden's edge, stood the Portal. Unlike the Elevator at the back of the Hotel, the Portal only went to one place; the version of earth they'd all come from. Home.

"Come on," Vain said.

Six of them were in on that insane scheme together: him and Vain; Hush and Blunt; and, bringing up the rear, Patience and Charm. Hush and Blunt were fraternal twins, although you'd have a hard time guessing it from their appearance. Both were dark-skinned, but where Blunt was a large, athletic guy with an easy way about him and an open, honest face, Hush was much smaller and wore a permanent scowl. Charm and Patience were older women, although grey hadn't yet started to appear in their brown hair. They held hands and exchanged worried glances.

Keeping close, the group crept across the deserted path towards the Portal and freedom. He believed in Vain, but this part of the plan was the hardest to swallow. Literally walk into the Portal. About eighty percent of her idea consisted of that one step. She reasoned they'd never expect it, and, to be fair, she wasn't wrong. It wasn't like they guarded the Portal; the mere fact that Wyatts flowed in and out of it was enough to keep everyone at bay.