Prolouge

What is going on and a hint of someone that shouldn't be crossed.

Being stuck in a room with two knocked out, tied up boys and two guys, who were chasing me, wearing black sleeveless shirts and dark sunglasses was the last thing I wanted. Oh, did I mention that these guys both had guns? Anyway, there I was stuck in a room, against a wall parallel to the only door and exit. At the corner of my eye I saw a gun hiding under a throw-pillow on a couch next to a small table. Slowly, I inched closer to it as the guy with the short spiky dirty brown hair spoke.

"Don’t suppose you’d accept the invite and come see the boss."

"Yea,” said the man with the blond, shoulder cut hair pulled in a low ponytail. “He said it would be a shame if his guest was unable to be there and insisted that you come with us."

My leg bumped into the couch as I looked at the boys, then to the guys. “I think I’ll pass. Seeing as the invite involves guns and a ‘game’ of knock-out, I don’t think the party is going to any better.” And with that, I reached under the couch and grabbed the gun, aimed at guy with the long hair and fired. The man dropped the gun and tightly held his forearm, cursing as I kicked the other man to the ground before I ran out of the room.

“Tomlin, get her!” he yelled. I heard him while continuing down the hallway, hoping that someone was there. Since this place is a hotel and all, I would have expected someone even a shadow of one, but for some odd reason, nobody came out. Nobody heard my cries for help or the gun shot that echoed through the entire the building only a few minutes ago. No one heard a thing.

This place was getting both really annoying and creepy at the same time. I had almost turned the corner to the next hallway and heard two gun shots, feeling extreme pain through my stomach. Turning, I saw another bullet heading towards me. I dodged it. I then aim the gun to the guy following my steps and, without thinking twice or hesitation; I fired a bullet of my own into his shooting hand then left the hallway, heading in an elevator. I felt pain surging through my abdomen. I looked down and saw a dark red stain extending through my clothes. Man, I thought.  I never thought that a gun could do this much damage. I took off my yellow jacket and tied it tightly around my waist to slow the bleeding. Hopefully, I thought as the elevator opened to the first floor, this will hold until I reach a hospital....If I make it there.

I began to do my best speed walk as I headed down a hallway, knocking each door that passed. My goal was to make someone answer, but the more I knocked, the less I saw that goal being reached. It all felt too much like a horror movie: a girl goes in a hotel, filled with people (families even), and a few days later, she is the only one left, being chased by some wacko and his minions.

I shivered, wincing again as I knocked on the last door, gaining no reply. I began to turn the corner to another hallway, leaning on the wall to rest, as I began to breathe, a bit harsh, my mind was becoming woozy. If I sat down, then I would probably never get up and either die from lack of blood or die at the hands of this weirdo who sent his CSI buddies after me. The jacket was still holding, as it absorbed the blood, and turning into an orange color in the process. After some grunting and a hard push from the wall, I continued down the next hallway, knocking on each door, still not gaining any reply or, at least, so I believed.

About the second door on the middle left of the hallway, someone, a boy opened the door. He was about six or seven years old, with short light brown hair and sky blue eyes. An alarm ran through my mind as I thought to myself, okay, this is not a horror movie….this is not a horror movie….I got to stop watching horror movies…. As I asked, “Are your parents here?”

I then sigh in relief as I saw the boy nodding wisely and, for a moment, he seemed like an adult�"serious. “Dad is in the shower and Mom went to the store to get me my treat she promised me.” He saw my jacket that was partly blood soaked and looked at me. “Hey, are you okay….?” He asked in concern, still staring at the makeshift bandage.

I breathed in deeply and winced as I shook my head slowly. “I need some help.” I said as I winced again, leaning on the door. The child’s eyes widened as he held my hand and gently tugged. I stumbled in and leaned on the chair as I looked to my makeshift bandage that was around my waist and noticed that it was almost all orange and another shade of orange had began to show. I grunted as I made myself stand.

"Come in. Dad will be here in a second…” He stopped speaking as silence filled the room and then nodded. “I think he’s finished with his shower now. He’ll be out in a few minutes then he can take you a doctor….”

I gave no reply to what he said. It was getting very complicated to breathe without pain surging throughout my body. “Call the police…..now….there are two men in this hotel trying either kidnap or kill me.” I said, still leaning on the chair, feeling the pain pounding long and hard, and breathing air as if through a straw and my liveliness being drained out of me with the blood.

"Does one of the men have long hair pulled back and the other one have spiky hair? Both real tall and have sunglasses?” the child asked.

"Y…yea…” I said between taking deep breathes. "How….did you know that….did they come here….?”

The boy looked at me with a blank look then gave a small smile, not one of those childish ones, but a strange and eerie one that holds a dark secret. “Yes, they did and in fact,” the boy said. “They are right here in this room. Kapler. Tomlin. You both can come out now.”

The boy’s voice was changing, to an older voice, possibly a teenager’s, to which was oddly familiar to my ears. He turned and faced the three-shelved, pale brown bookcase and the 70’s patterned loveseat as they began to morph. My eyes widened as the furniture began to take shape to the two guys that were chasing me throughout the hotel. The one with the ponytail, Kapler, grabbed me roughly by the arm, smirked and then punched the wound that I had temporarily bandaged. I coughed up some blood as I slumped in his grasp, more dead than alive as my energy was pulled down to zero.

“That,” Kapler said. “Was for shootin’ me.”

“Now, now, Kapler,” the boy said still looking at me. “She still came, did she not?”

“Yea.” Kapler grumbled giving me a look through his narrow eyes.

“Then there was no need of doing that.” The boy looked at me as well but with a non-amused expression. “I really thought that you would have done something different to keep a step ahead of this little game,” he said giving a sigh then nodding to Tomlin who grabbed my other arm harshly. “Why did it have to end ever so quickly?”

"Hey boss,” Tomlin said, “Could it be because of her memory was erased?”

            "Maybe. It’s quite possible.” the boy came close to me and lifted my chin up to look at his uniquely purple eyes. I felt myself being pulled in as I looked at them, as if I was under his spell.

“I suppose I’ll give you another try, but the next time, I won’t be so easily forgiving. For now, I want you to forget everything that has happened here at the hotel and to remember nothing when you wake up. Do you understand?”

            Too weak to say a thing, I nodded slowly in understanding. The boy gave a victorious grin before he gave his minions the okay to let me go. Kapler, smirking, decided to give me a push on my back to make me fall to the ground, my jumbling mind hitting the wooden floors. My eyes looked at the three as my vision began to fade into darkness and my mind becoming a clean slate. The last thing I heard was the boy, with his child voice yelling for someone to call 911.