Chapter 5

Chloe found herself running down a dark alley tripping over trash and crushed cardboard boxes. The sour stench that assaulted her nostrils every time she fell made her gag and she felt an incredible fear that she was going to be found heaving in a dark corner of the alley or her lungs would give in long before that.  

            The thing that was following her was something of her nightmares and she couldn’t quite remember what it looked like. The only thing that she did remember was the immense fear she felt at the thought of it.  Her fear emanated from every cell of her body and all she knew was she had to get away.

            A voice in the back of her mind screamed that she needed to get indoors, there was something strangely familiar about the voice but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She needed to get to her room and lock herself in but Chloe couldn’t seem to get her bearings and that prevented her from finding the way back.

            Forced to stop due to the capacity of her lungs had reached their limit Chloe’s heart pounded loudly in her ears as she tried to find her breath. Trying to gulp the air in faster than her lungs could manage she felts as if they were going to explode. She still had that nagging voice in the back of her mind and with each breath it seemed to be getting louder in her head.

            “Chloe what the hell are you doing? I told you to run and not to stop until you were to your room!” The voice boomed in Chloe’s head and she covered her ears in a feeble attempt to drown out the voice. “Chloe” the voice seemed to be pleading now, “Please run, he is getting closer and I am still not healed enough to get to you.”

            Chloe couldn’t understand what was going on and wondered if she had finally gone mad. Regardless she lifted her head and looked around. Her breathing had finally begun to slow and the pain in her lungs seemed to subside a little. Off to the left of her resting post was another dark alley like the one she had just submerged from and it did not look inviting. To the right the building she was leaning on stretched on for a few blocks and she dismissed the ideal of following it to its end. Straight in front of her she found the Holy Grail.

            The dimly lit sign of her own hotel was like a beacon in the darkness of light. All she needed was to walk down the small block between two massive buildings, up the narrow street in front of her. She lifted her right foot to begin towards the hotel and before she could even plant it on the ground in front of her she heard a scuffle from close behind her and as she began to turn her heard in the direction of the noise she heard the voice in her head again.

             “RUN!”

            The primal fear she felt with that simple word made her take off like there was no tomorrow. Chloe didn’t even bother looking back anymore. She did not want to see whatever was chasing her. The voice in her head had scared her to her core and all she wanted was to feel safe in her own room.

            Chloe ran up the stairs of the hotel and crashed full speed through the front door. Falling to the floor with a loud thud Chloe looked up to find Emily behind her desk looking down at her in horror. Emily turned her head upward and sniffed the air. Her eyes grew wide and she turned back to Chloe, running from around the desk.

            Faster than Chloe thought possible Emily was by her side and grabbed her by the arms. Her grip on Chloe’s arm was so tight she winced in pain as she was hoisted to her feet.

            “Run! Run for your life child! Lock yourself in your room and do not open it for anyone until the morning, not even your man friend.”

Chloe was on her feet and took off up the stairs and down the hallway to her room. She dug into her skirt for her room key and froze in fear. Phillip had the key. She smacked herself in the head for her stupidity. She had once again forgotten to get the key from him.

     Reaching out she tried the knob just in case and was surprised when it didn’t resist and opened up for her. She rushed into her room and in the darkness she locked the door and deadbolt. She rushed to the two windows at the far wall. Carefully she made it past the bed and mirror and checked each window to make sure that they were locked.

     With a deep sigh she walked over to the bed and turned on the lamp on the night stand. She stood there looking at the door to her room expecting that terrible thing that had been chasing her to crash through the door at any moment.

     After a long period of time she began to relax and the tension in her shoulders and back that had built up while standing there melted away ever so slowly. That’s when she lost control and fell to the floor and began sobbing. She didn’t understand what was happening and it was so terrible.

     Yearning to be back in her cozy little home slaving over her parents she just sat there sobbing. She never imagined that her promising little vacation could end up like this. The only thing that she was grateful for was Phillip. He had taken care of her from the moment they had met.

That was when she realized why the voice from the alley was so familiar. It was Phillips.

     In shock Chloe stopped her sobbing and pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the bed. Phillip was the answer to everything that has been happening. His sudden appearance in their cabin when she thought he had left, his insisting there was no man in the hall earlier this evening, and now he spoke to her inside her head.

     “Oh, Phillip you have a lot of explaining to do.” She said in a slightly agitated voice as she stood and walked towards the bathroom.

     As if she was summoning him, Phillip appeared through her door slamming it behind him and securing the lock and deadbolt.

     “Chloe, you really should learn to properly lock yourself in my dear.” Turning to her he took a step towards her and his eyes rolling back in his head he slumped to the floor before her. He lay motionless on the floor face down and his gray suit was tattered and torn and blood covered the right sleeve of his arm.

     Chloe ran to his side turning him over and taking his head in her arms she wiped the hair from his face. His skin was extremely warm to the touch and had a sickly gray color. His eyes darted back and forth under their lids and it was apparent he was battling some kind of sickness.

     Gently laying his head down on the floor she arose from the floor and ran to the bathroom bringing back two wet towels. She lay one across his forehead and with the other she began to wipe down his face. It seemed cruelly ironic that she was once again taking care of a passed out Phillip. It had only been a day ago that she was unwrapping him from the heap of clothes that he had piled on himself.

     With suddenness Phillip’s eyes flashed open and for a brief second he stared at the ceiling. The expression on his face was that of shock and his pupils dilated to their full capacity. He arched his back and inhaled as if he couldn’t get enough air into his lungs. He reached a hand to his chest and clenched his shirt tightly in his fist.  His already pale completion lost all color and Chloe thought for a moment she was watching him take his dying breath.  She held her own breath and the sting of tears were beginning to form behind her eyes.

     If he died right now she knew that he would have died protecting her and she could never have lived with herself if that happened. It frustrated her that she couldn’t remember the terrible events of the evening except from the time of her running away from some phantom monster and Phillips voice in her head. Neither made any sense and that didn’t ease her frustration at all.

     Then he rolled to his side and vomited a strange purple liquid. He gagged and coughed up large chunks of solid purple and Chloe sat back staring at him in amazement, not sure if the color mess that was coming out from his mouth or the mere fact that he was still alive.

     Phillip sat on the floor on all fours expelling the remaining liquid and his body shuddered when he had finished.  Turning and sitting back on the floor he looked up to Chloe.  She gasped and was stunned to see that his beautiful caramel brown eyes had lost all their original color and was now an icy blue color.  The same had happened to his gently tan skin.  It now had a light gray tint to it.  It was the same tender Phillip that she knew.  She could see his passion and desire for her and it seemed that without the protection of the previous brown she could now see his emotions through his eyes.

     Chloe wondered if that was what the previous color of both his skin and eyes was, just a protective layer.  This new version of Phillip was more vulnerable and fragile.     

     Staring into his eyes Chloe was captivated by the hunger that radiated from the depths and she took a step towards him.  She didn’t think about it and it was like he was pulling her towards him and she was helpless against it.  She couldn’t look away or pull herself from the trance and when she realized this fear began to build within her. She didn’t know what he was doing and she something told her she should be afraid.

     As if Phillip recognized the fear in her he shut his eyes. The second his eyes fully closed Chloe felt his trance release her and she took a deep breath not realizing that she had forgotten to inhale while he had her captivated. She watched Phillip sit in silence on the floor and it seemed like he was struggling to control something within him, afraid to look at her again. He struggled to control his breathing and clenched his fist in anger.

     “Chloe…You need… to get out of here.” He struggled to get the words out and Chloe turned to the door and obeyed.

     Shutting the door to her own room she rested against it trying to sort out the craziness of everything. Every fiber in her body told her she needed to be afraid of Phillip but there was that undeniable pull that she felt every time he looked at her or was near her.  She couldn’t believe that he would ever harm her even if he believed he would. Why would he try to save her life earlier if this was the case?

     She remembered her earlier plight and was suddenly very afraid.  Standing alone in the dark hallway she was reliving the terror she had felt when she was running through the alleyways trying to escape her phantom monster.

     She could not stay in the hallway any longer and deciding against returning back into the room and the struggling Phillip she turned and walked to the staircase.  Emily could keep her company until Phillip had himself under control.

     As she slowly descended the stair case Chloe looked around the lobby expecting to see some monstrous beast awaiting her.  To her relief Emily sat behind her desk and was the only being present.  The first light of dawn was peeking through the front windows and Chloe was relieved that the horrible night was finally over. 

     Emily stood up and rushed over to Chloe inspecting her for harm.  She took Chloe’s hands in her own and turned the palms up and over looking for signs of foul play.  Emily’s hands were deathly cold and sent a chill up Chloe’s spine.  Chloe began her own inspection of this peculiar woman that stood before her. Her white hair was pulled back into its usual neat bun on top of her head and her usual uniform was perfectly pressed. This startled Chloe because she couldn’t remember Emily ever gone from her post. Did this woman ever sleep? Chloe made a note to speak to Phillip about this unusual woman when she got a chance.

     When Emily was content with Chloe’s arms she reached up and took Chloe’s face in her hands and tilted her head first to the left and then to the right, pulling the collar of her shirt down in manner that was too rough for Chloe’s liking.  She was inspecting Chloe’s neck and this deeply trouble Chloe.  Finally fed up with Emily’s inspection Chloe pulled back out of the reach of her freezing hands.

     “Can I sit with you?  My friend is resting and I can’t sleep so I thought it was best I left the room so I don’t disturb him.” Not knowing why she lied to Emily Chloe twisted her hands together in an anxious manner.  Emily seemed to be only interested in helping Chloe but there was a nagging feeling deep in Chloe’s stomach warning her not to trust anyone.

     Emily raised an eyebrow and in an off handed manner said “Why don’t you just stay in his room?” without waiting for a reply Emily pulled out the top drawer to her desk, reached in and pulled out the spare key to Phillip’s room.  She tossed the key to Chloe and sat back in her chair behind her desk.  Taking this as a dismissal Chloe muttered a low thank you and retreated back up the stairs to Phillip’s room.

     She stopped at his door and stared at the door knob for a long time.  It feel incredibly improper for her to go into his room without his approval but seeing as she didn’t have another choice she inserted the key, turned the knob and walked into the room shutting the door behind her.

     She was immediately assaulted by the sweet aroma of Phillip.  He was everywhere in this room and Chloe was instantly relieved.  Everything about him was so wonderful to her and she couldn’t understand this incredible pull that seemed to be drawing them together.  She knew that she would never give him up and that terrified her.  She knew that she was in love with him and could never return to her home after this.  The man she loved risked his life to save hers and he was sitting in her room trying to overcome some strange infliction and she couldn’t help but feel responsible for everything that was happening to him.

     Chloe slowly inspected everything in Phillips room stopping to breathe in the scent of his clothes when she walked past the closet.  He smelled so wonderful. She took a coat off the hanger and pulled it on like a small child wearing her father’s clothes. Wrapping her hands around her own waist she pulled the coat closer to her and inhaled deeply. The scent of his clothes reminded her of the smell of an open meadow just after a cleansing summer storm.  Like the sweet dew you could find lingering on the grass and trees.

     His room was no different than hers.  The same mirror hung above the head of the bed and twin night stands and matching lamps were on either side of the bed.  The same style dresser lay on the opposite side with a dressing mirror slightly off to the side. Jumping onto the massive bed Chloe sat staring up at the ceiling fan and without realizing it she drifted off to sleep.