Dark Passions

Chapter Three

"Not a minute after okay? I don't want to eat cold pizza."

"I'll be here," Ally laughed as she opened the door. "See ya in a bit Jess!"

"Have fun!" I called after her as she closed the door. I hoped Ally would have fun. She does get along with everyone, and she's easily liked. I reached for the remote and turned on the TV.

*****

I was so engrossed in the TV I barely noticed the time. I sat up on my knees and stretched my arms over my head before glancing at the clock on the bedside table. I widened my eyes when I saw it was 11:52, and I was astonished Ally wasn't back yet. I quickly ordered the pizza so it would be here when Ally arrived. I leaned back against the headboard and continued to watch TV, the movie I was watching now over. As the time continued to carry on, my stomach started forming a knot. Ally wouldn't be this far over time, I thought as I looked at the clock again. 12:07 rolled around, and I got up from the bed and went out to the balcony. I looked over at all the rooms and saw none of the lights were on except the ones on the upper floors. Apparently, the upper floors were only for VIP guests, and one would have to have a special badge to get up on those floors. I snorted in disgust at all the rich people as I walked back into the room. I grabbed my phone and sent Ally a text, asking where she was. 12:20 came and the pizza man delivered the pizza, and soon I was sitting back on my bed again, with a large pepperoni pizza in front of me. Where could she be? I wondered as I looked down at my phone again. I sent her another one, and now I was feeling frantic. Ally would've responded by now. I'm going to slip by the banquet and see if she's chatting with people. It was only supposed to last until midnight anyway. I slipped on my tennis shoes and was about to head to the door when someone banged on it. I nearly jumped out of my skin, but I breathed a sigh of relief. Ally was back. But my relief faded when the banging continued.

"You have the key!" I shouted, hoping she just needed a reminder. Knowing Ally, she probably had one too many drinks. The banging continued, and I suddenly grew irritated. Even if it wasn't Ally, whoever this was, was getting on my nerves. I walked over to the door and opened it. "Geez, you have the bloody—" A hand shot forward and covered my mouth as another hand circled my waist. Fear flashed through me and I kicked backwards, nailing the man in the stomach and I threw my head back, the back of my head smashing into his nose as he fell forward. I looked behind me to see the man holding his face, his hold on me broken. Fear continued to climb as Ally came to mind. "ALLY!" I yelled as I bolted down the hallway. I didn't bother taking the elevator—I flew down the stairs towards the lobby. I shoved my way through the door and came upon an empty lobby. The tables from the banquet were overturned, glass shattered everywhere. As I walked forward, I noticed drops of blood sprinkled across the floor. I looked around frantically, but I didn't see a person in sight. Not even the receptionist was at the counter.

"There she is!" I looked up at one of the openings and saw several men in black like the one I had taken out earlier. They ran for the stairs, and I stooped down and wiggled off the leg of a wooden chair. I came up with it as two men rushed at me.

"Where's Ally?" I snarled as my knuckles turned white as I gripped the leg. The men ignored me, and jumped at me. I always said people had a good reason to fear me, and that my dad had no idea what he was paying for. I reacted, and blocked the man's blow with my arm before coming around and clubbing him on the head with the wooden leg. The second man grabbed me from behind, his arms wrapping around my neck as an attempt to restrain me. I bit down hard on his arms before kicking back and up with my leg, nailing the main in the crotch. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, and I clubbed him over the head too for good measure. I looked around as I began to breathe heavily. I ran towards a hallway on the main floor. I saw a door slightly jarred open, and as I went for it, a man tackled me from behind. I hit the floor hard, knocking the breath out of me. My lip busted open as I made contact with the floor, and I felt the man positioning himself on top of me. I struggled against him, digging my nails into his arm. Then I felt it. A sharp pain danced across my forearm and my arm gave out. I glanced backwards to see the man had slashed my arm with a knife. He pinned my arms behind me as I heard footsteps approaching.