5
604words
“I’m on my way! ETA 10 minutes tops. STAY HIDDEN!”
I stared, bewildered. The only reason I was traveling alone was because of our stupid fight. Why would he come?
“How? Why?” I typed back.
He sent a weary emoji. “Couldn’t let you travel alone angry. Took the same train, stayed at the motel next door. Didn’t want to push if you were still mad. Got a cab. 10 mins. I swear.”
The words conjured his steady gaze. My icy fingers warmed slightly. I let out a shaky breath, pressing myself flat against the wall, wishing I could dissolve into the plaster. Ethan was coming.His promise anchored my spiraling panic. He teaches Krav Maga. Against a killer, or 102, he stood a chance.
Calming fractionally, a new, more terrifying realization struck: The hallway had gone quiet again. The fight between 102 and the killer… was over.
THUD! THUD!
The rhythmic, heavy pounding started again. On 101’s door. Who was doing the pounding?
The answer came swiftly.
In the group chat, 101 unleashed a torrent of abuse directed at me:
“@Room103 YOU COWARD! WHY DIDN’T YOU HELP?!”
“102 IS DEAD! HAPPY NOW?!”
“EVEN IF HE BREAKS MY DOOR FIRST, YOU’RE DEAD TOO!”
She sounded utterly unhinged. I gripped my phone, clinging to the play-dead strategy!
THUD! THUD!
THUD! THUD!
The rhythm confirmed it – the original killer was back at work.
I curled tighter in my corner, dragging the thin comforter over my head, burying myself.
The monitor couldn't see 101's fate, and I didn't want to see Mrs. Wilkins's corpse again.
Maybe… maybe the blanket would offer a tiny fraction of a second's delay if the killer broke in? Buy time… just buy time…
I watched the clock. Two minutes since Ethan’s text.
Each second stretched into an eternity.
Trembling, I opened the group chat again.
Mr. Davies had vanished. He hadn’t responded since promising to come. 101 had tried shouting for him during the fight. Nothing. Maybe he’d seen the carnage and fled?
“AAAAAHHHH—!”
A splintering crash and a woman’s piercing scream ripped through the wall simultaneously. 101’s door was breached. It hadn’t even lasted a minute.
“Please! Please, mister! I didn’t see anything! I swear! Don’t hurt me!” 101’s voice scraped raw. “I’m begging you! Please! I—I can sleep with you, you—you want money? I’ll give you all my money, I—I… Just don’t kill me! Go to 103! KILL HER! SHE’S THE ONE YOU WANT!”
I hugged my knees, biting my lip hard enough to draw blood. Not a sound. Not a whimper.
“AAAIIEEEEE—!”
Her scream cut off abruptly after maybe three seconds, choked into silence.
Then, moments later, a fresh wave of agony ripped it out of her again.
Unconscious from the pain… waking to more agony… I lost count of how many times the cycle repeated.
From frantic shrieks to deathly silence. It only took about three and a half minutes.
Three and a half minutes.Before Ethan could get here, that killer had plenty of time to shatter my limbs too, leaving me to die in agony.
Thud… Clank… Thud… Clank…
The scythe scraped and bumped closer. My body shook uncontrollably. Logic screamed I should do something – jam the table against the door, buy even one second. But my limbs were frozen blocks of ice. I couldn’t stand. Couldn’t even lift a finger to text Ethan.
I was going to die.
I was going to die…
THUMP!
A heavy thud hit my door. Not the hacking sound. It sounded like… a body falling?
