The Hotel at the End of Time

Chapter 30 - Vain and the showdown at the Portal.

He stabbed at Roman, and the knife bounced out of his grip like he had hit a brick wall. He yelled and clutched his hand. Emma frowned and the Wyatt flew away like a pebble out of a slingshot. One moment he danced from foot to foot in front of Roman, wringing his injured hand, the next he was gone, a dim speck in the sky above.

"Leave," Emma said again. "I am walking. If you are in my way by the time I get to the doors, you will die." With that, Emma took a step forward.

The five remaining Wyatts scrambled out of the way, running into the darkness. Emma squinted and the steel doors blew inward with a deafening crash.

The entrance opened into a large, single space that looked more like an airport lounge than a room. It had seating spread throughout, a small kitchen area with a stove in the corner, and shelves full of supplies lined the walls. That wasn't only a place to transition, this was a refueling station. This where they came out of the Hotel and got themselves ready to go into the world.

In the middle of the open room a giant door frame towered over everything, fifteen feet tall. There was no door in the frame, only a hazy, purple film. It stood in the middle by itself, its presence unremarkable, but Vain's blood chilled when she looked at it. The Portal to the Hotel. She'd found it. After all this time, she'd found it.

Wyatts were scattered throughout the room, looking alarmed and frantic, all pointing guns at them.

They fired.

The noise was deafening. Vain and Roman both screamed. Bullets whizzed through the air and noxious gun smoke filled the room. Emma only stared, head tilted, a tiny half-smile on her face. Vain's bowels loosened.

The shooting lasted twenty seconds. When it was over, the only sounds were the clackity-clack of guns reloading and spent cartridges falling to the floor.

The Wyatts were agitated beyond control. One ran for a nearby gun rack, seemed to think better of it, and instead ran out the back door. Two huddled against each other, backing away. One dropped to his knees and pleaded with them to stop.

One stupider Wyatt dove at Emma from where he had been crouching in the shadows. Emma didn't turn her head or flinch; she only held up her hand and he froze in mid-air before being launched back twenty feet straight into a pile of chairs against the wall.

Five Wyatts, braver than their peers, charged from the right. Screaming, they rushed in to attack. Emma showed no outward reaction, she didn't even glance at them. Their charge slowed, as if they were trying to run through water. They slowed... and stopped. Their feet left the floor while they yelled in protest. They swam and flailed, unable to do anything while Emma trapped them in the air.

The moment of silence stretched into eternity. The Wyatts drifted apart, soundlessly, until they floated a good twenty feet away from each other. Their counterparts on the ground pointed and trembled at the power on display.

With brutal force, Emma slammed them together

The unmistakable crack of bone breaking echoed off the walls. Emma separated the men who were now a groaning, crying mess.

Slam. She brought them together again with horrific force. Blood covered one of the Wyatts' faces; he must have connected with a knee or elbow. She separated them again.

Slam. A third concussion and the only sounds left were soft whimpers. They hung limp, unconscious. One Wyatts' leg twisted at an unnatural angle. Emma was crushing them together with the force of multiple car crashes. It was grotesque. She separated them again, five broken puppets suspended in the air. Vain couldn't take her eyes from the growing pool of blood collecting beneath their fractured bodies.