The earth is careening straight down the tracks to hell and the humans are at fault.
Trapped in the dungeons of an ancient burial grounds and tortured to the brink of insanity, the God and Goddess of balance have been separated, unleashing a terrib...
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A deep breath later, I'm trotting up the stairs. My fingers graze the large banister, chunks of wood chipping at my touch and falling to the floor soundlessly. Faint arguing echoes behind me as if something immediately goes wrong within seconds of entering the hotel.
The carpets and drapes would've gone together if not for the charred marks everywhere. Most curtains are seared black or nonexistent spare a few rooms either locked well or soaked in water from the handicapped sprinklers.
Humans and their priorities.
My mind muses over the eras when the weak weren't so well catered to. The days left behind were ones where the sick or unable only had their families to rely on and society would've sooner left them to perish.
Depending on the culture that is.
I always respected Native American tribes for protecting and nurturing their elderly. Even if 'taking a village' often seemed more work than worthwhile.
When we arrived, I'd already noted that a soul dwelled somewhere within these walls. Alive or dead, someone is here. My guess is hiding in one of the rooms and I want to resolve the problem before anyone is endangered.
Taking the left first, I wander up and down every little corridor and open doors on both sides. Nothing. Besides the smell of mold and the lingering rot of certain corpses, only the rooms not rented out in the decay of society were clean. Most are scattered too far apart for my liking as well.
Heat rising might make the potential of a second-floor room impossible anyway.
My stomach knots up in an unfamiliar feeling, something I seldom recognize save for one occasion. The night Lindon and I were separated.
Bracing a hand on the wall and touching my stomach, strange nausea pushes through me again as if once again dreading the worst. This sensation isn't a lack of Mana or even becoming reacquainted with an adequate amount.
Once again, the odds feel against me.
This time I won't let him slip away, even if the world must burn a thousand more times.
Rough steps sound on the stairs and I turn slightly to see Daniel, his pale face a red I haven't seen before on him. If it weren't clue enough already, his jaw is working itself into oblivion, teeth grinding so hard it's painful to look at.
The tension eases a little when he catches sight of me though.
"Rough night?" I ask, attempting to joke.
Dan catches up to me swiftly, dragging his gaze up to mine. "Please tell me you can put me to some kind of use up here."
"If you'd like to follow me around while I check each and every individual room for a sign of life, I wouldn't hate the company."
He sighs and nods. "Good enough."
Taking a slow pace deliberately, I can tell Daniel needs to cool off a little bit and I'm not entirely sure asking after the situation will help. Some of the humans like to vent. Others like to snap your neck off for even implying something is even remotely out of the ordinary. Though I've come to notice that's mainly menstruating women.
