The Last Victor

Chapter 16

Dead or Alive - Part 2

He turns right and leads me down a long, narrow corridor I hadn't caught sight of earlier, almost hidden within the darkness.

I shove my hands into my pockets awkwardly as we walk in unison. "Mind telling me where we even are? It's not everyday someone picks up your unconscious body and brings it to a creepy, random hideout..."

He looks over his shoulder at me with stoic  features but I'm just able to catch him roll his eyes. "It defeats the purpose of being a hideout if people know the location."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Are you serious? Cause this is sounding more and more like one of those plots in scary movies where the serial killer lures the girl into his trap and— well, you get the rest."

He doesn't answer but instead keeps walking straight, giving away nothing.

Who pissed in his Cheerios this morning?

"You can't just—"

My words die on my tongue as we walk into an huge, rustic room.

"Woah....." I inhale sharply as I glance around in awe.

The room is dimly lit with candles scattered everywhere, lighting the area enough so it's possible to scope out the rest of the space.

On the ceiling hangs an ornate chandelier that is so elaborate it looks fit for royalty. Paintings and faded tapestry fill the mahogany walls, and on the far side of the room stands a luxurious bar, stocked with alcohols.

Note to self: stop there later.

There is also several tables lined up in the back as well as posh furniture scattered across the rest of the room, a piano in one corner.

I go over to it, memories of my mother playing it every night before the outbreak tugging at the back of my head. I run a finger along the black framing, it coming away dirty with dust. It looks like it hasn't been played in years.

I glance over my shoulder at Kaiden only to find him watching me with an amused expression.

"You've got to tell me where we are now." I adjure him, breathing out a wonderstruck breath.

"This used to be an illegal casino back in the day." he responds in compliance, "Not many people knew about it, you know, cause it had to be kept on the down low and all. It was kind of like a speakeasy. Only the richest of the rich would come to gamble here."

"How do you know all of this?" I ask him curiously.

He hesitates, but quickly masks it with a cool shrug. "I found some papers earlier that were written by two of the guys that used to come here. Explained everything in them."

I nod but can't help but feel like he is hiding something.

I look around the room one more time to marvel.

"You can sit down over there." he points to a green couch on the right side of the room.

As I go to sit down, he rummages through the cabinets and cupboards, pulling out bandages and other supplies.