He Strikes at the Hotel

Chapter Forty Two

Zachery's POV

If they hurt her...

"No!" I shouted aloud to make myself snap out of it. I couldn't let myself get drowned in hopelessness, I had to keep hope alive to keep me fighting. It's gotten this far, I'm sure as hell not letting it end here.

In all honesty, I never thought it would come to this. I knew something wasn't right with the disappearances, but I never imagined it would lead to tracing down a murderer. I never would have involved Audrey Rose if I had of known. I never intended to put her in real danger. But now she's gone. And I have to get to her before anything more happens to her.

"Think Zachery, think..." I muttered to myself, tapping the side of my cheek as I thought. They were definitely here and haven't been gone long. They must have heard me coming down. Great job, Zachery. Way to blow your cover.

They couldn't have come out of this room to flee, otherwise I would have seen them. That means they had to escape through another route. I was scanning the room before me as if everything was under suspicion. Then it dawned on me. The trap door.

In my frantic state I had completely forgotten about the trap door that we had found down here once before, and the bloody fingerprints which were on it then. We never did go further into it to see where it led, but at least it's a start.

I went over to the shelves which neatly hid the escape away from plain sight and began to drag them away from the wooden door beneath them. I tried to be careful when moving them, so not to give away my position any more than what I have done already. As far as I'm aware, Audrey Rose and I are the only ones who know that we found this door, so wherever they have gone, they won't expect me to be going any further than this room. It had to stay that way.

I managed to get the shelves far enough away in my stealth so that I could see the entirety of the wooden escape route, which wasn't entirely closed. That had to be a good sign. I crouched down and began to reach for the handle to lift the lid open, when the memory of the first time being down here hit me like an arrow in the chest. Audrey Rose's face of pure confusion, curiosity and beauty all rolled into one as we explored down here together. She was so sure that she couldn't trust me, I could sense it in the way she acted around me. Her body language was tense, as if she was fighting an inner battle with herself. And now, after I gained her trust, I've broken my promise to keep her safe.

My heart throbbed heavily and a lump began to rise in my throat. I hung my head low for a moment, with my dark hair loosely hanging over my forehead, hiding the pained wrinkles forming from the thought of what I had caused. I should never have pursued this. But now it was too late.

I rubbed my hands over my face quickly, as if that would wash away all of my concerns. Instead, it just added smudged of dirt to my already flushed face from where I had moved the old, dusty shelves. I clambered over to the door and lifted the lid open in one steady motion. The lightweight feel of it surprised me, as I imagined it to have been a lot heavier, causing at least some sort of a struggle on my behalf.

Darkness was all I could see. Darkness and the slight glimpse of a steep staircase descending from the hatch. I took in a deep breath and began to move my legs into the darkness and fumbled around with my feet until I felt a sturdy base underneath them. There was a stagnant smell down here, with the air thick and murky. It sent shivers up my spine and made bile rise to my throat at the thought of what the smell could be coming from.

I took careful footsteps down the stair case, deepening down into only God knows where. There were drips of water falling intermittently from above me, causing a ripple sound to echo around me, as if it was coming from a leaky tap in an abandoned prison.

The darkness began to lift as I reached the bottom, as in the long hallway that greeted me, there was also lanterns on the walls, all perfectly lit and maintained. I grabbed one to take with me and tried to listen for any inclination as to where they had gone, but I had no such luck. I just continued down the damp hallway until I reached what looked like a clinical waiting room just round the corner.

There was no door shutting the room off from the rest of the hallway, so I was able to see into the room which was completely illuminated with light and white furniture positioned symmetrically around the room. The complete contrast of this room from the rest of the hotel was difficult to process, it looked as if it was almost a hallucination. What was in the middle of the room was what caught my eye the most, however. It was a doctor's stretcher, equipped with arm and leg restraints and a silver metal tray propped up against it.

I approached the metal tray to inspect the contents, realising what I would most likely find, but I needed to confirm it. As I put my hand out to the tray, its metal surface was cold under my touch, but not cold enough to counter the heat which fired up into my face when I saw the contents.

There were scalpels, scissors and surgical equipment all lined up parallel to one another. Some of them were beginning to rust, with dark specks of blood stained into the crevices of the rust patches. Bile began to rise in my throat again. I ignored my nauseousness and tried to figure out where to go next to find Audrey Rose. This place was obviously the end goal, so she must be somewhere safe until she is brought here.

I heard voices coming from another room in the distance, it was faint, but it was definitely there. It was a deep voice which I couldn't decipher, but amongst them was the sweet, delicate sound of someone threatening whoever was with them.

"That's my girl." I thought to myself proudly, recognising the voice as Audrey Rose; mainly due to the insults she was throwing in her defence. She had a fire in her which I could not for the life of me resist. I was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. I began to feel the anger rise inside me more powerful than any emotion I have ever felt before. I now understood what people meant when they said they just 'saw red'. I wasn't just seeing red; I was feeling it, breathing it, radiating it.

This guy is going to regret he ever laid a finger on her.