It was a long flight, almost nine hours, and Derrek was glad to finally be able to stretch his legs. He had to be at the airport at 4:00 a.m., but delays pushed the flight to 7:00, and he couldn’t get much sleep the night before. Due to his last-minute booking, he ended up with a middle seat and had the misfortune of sitting between someone who snored like a bear and one with a bad cold. The in-flight movie was awful, some inaccurate allegory of fifties politics but with talking dogs. They were out of noise-canceling headphones, and every time Derrek got close to falling asleep, he was interrupted either by an impossibly loud snore or a sneeze of equal volume.
But he was finally off the flight and boarded a shuttle to the hotel. Each shuttle had a capacity for only sixty, so they split their group over the four they had rented, and to Derrek’s delight, he was on the one with the least people and didn’t see either of his seat-mates from the plane. It was another couple of hours to the Schadenfreude, so he decided to get comfortable.
Before he could even fashion a pillow from his duffle bag, a man popped up from the seat in front of him. He was bald but had a full beard, a large scar across his left cheek, and muscle mass for three. He spoke with a commanding but thoughtful voice.
“You’re the last-minute add-on, Derrek, right?”
Derrek replied, “Yeah, that’s me. And you are?”
The man stuck his hand out to shake Derrek’s, and with a big smile, he said, “Major Jeffrey Reynolds. Pleasure to meet you.”
Not wanting to be rude, Derrek shook Jeffrey’s hand. His hand felt like it was almost all callous, but it was clear he wasn’t squeezing as hard as he could to avoid shattering Derrek’s bones.
“Major? I didn’t know we had those rankings in Frostbyte.”
He gave a small laugh and said, “You don’t, but your CEO has done a lot of good for the government, so letting him take a few good soldiers into rough territory so he can do more good is kind of a no-brainer.”
“Rough territory? I thought Germany was at peace.”
“It sure is, which is why there’s only eight of us here. Usually, the bigwigs send one soldier for every two Frostbyte employees.”
“I guess that’s a good sign,” Derrek managed to say before he was interrupted by his own yawn.
Jeffrey realized how tired Derrek was and said, “You should get some rest. Jet lag can be a real pain. Plus, you’ll need your strength. You’ve got orientation tomorrow.”
“For the survey work?”
“Well, yeah, but I was referring to your weapons training. Gotta carry a sidearm if you’re in the field, and you gotta be trained to carry a sidearm.”
“I guess that makes sense. Never know what you might run into. Crazy world we live in.”
“You know it, but get yourself some shuteye,” Jeffrey said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a pair of headphones. “Here, these might help. They’re noise-canceling, the good kind.”
Derrek gratefully accepted the headphones and hastily said, “Thank you so much,” before putting them on and almost immediately passing out with his head on his duffle pillow.
Jeffrey gave a slight laugh. “I swear, Shale, you’d better know what you’re doing with this kid,” he said as he turned to face forward, pulled out a well-worn book, opened it to the middle, and began reading.
Derrek opened his eyes and found himself in an empty warehouse. It was the dead of night, but the full moon lit the room well enough that he could see. He couldn’t tell how large the building was, but he could see the floor around him was splattered with what looked like blood. His dreams were often strange, but never as vivid as this felt.
He was fearful and confused but decided to investigate. There was a trail heading into an unlit part of the warehouse, and Derrek could hear noises from the shadows. Tearing. Slurping. Crunching. Growling.
He couldn’t see what was making the sounds, but he caught a glimpse of a pair of eyes reflecting light. They were bright yellow. Whatever it was, he was sure it wasn’t human.
Before he could react, there was a crash above him. He dove away from the falling rubble and by some miracle came out unscathed. The hole in the ceiling let in significantly more light, and Derrek could completely see not only the creature lurking in the shadows but the person who busted through the roof.
The thing lurking in the shadows was humanoid but clearly wasn’t human, not anymore, at least. Its limbs were long and spindly, its fingers were as sharp as knives, its skin was tight, and the outline of every bone of its nude body was visible. The teeth of this creature were like needles, and its jaw opened much wider than it should. Its eyes were like cat eyes, except bloodshot and sunken in. The thing had no body hair to speak of, and even though it was crouched over, eating something that was too mangled even to tell what it was, Derrek could tell this monster would tower over him.
He couldn’t get a good look at the person, but not from lack of trying. Even though they were in direct moonlight, the image was blurry and incomprehensible, and all he could make out was a large mass of the color red.
Despite the obstruction, the person’s voice came through clear as day. It was a masculine voice but sounded young. Derrek heard the person say, “One fifty-two. Gotta say, those are rookie numbers for your kind.”
The creature responded with an incoherent series of growls, snarls, and hisses, with a few clicks sprinkled in. Even though Derrek couldn’t make out anything from it, the man behind the blob seemed to get the gist.
“Make all the excuses you want. Won’t stop what’s gonna happen next. Oh, right, I meant to ask last time: did you ever even actually eat anything? And I don’t mean the cannibalism.”
The thing gave a low growl, apparently in thought. After several seconds, it gave a loud bark and a short series of clicks.
“You got me there. I guess wolves do count. Shoulda maybe gotten one that wasn’t quite as rabid though.” Derrek wasn’t sure, but it looked like the man put one of his hands to his head, which gave a loud smack! “Oh shit, that reminds me! Did you ever see Old Yeller?”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The monster started to growl as if it were answering, but was cut off by a loud bang, quickly followed by two more. The sound caused Derrek to close his eyes for a split second, and when he opened them again, the creature’s head was missing, along with its neck, and there was a large hole where he assumed its heart was.
He wasn’t sure where the third shot went, but he was hopeful the thing was dead. With the creature out of the way, Derrek saw what it was eating, and although he couldn’t make out many details, he saw it had a human hand.
The red man appeared to have his arm outstretched and was holding a large object, the shape of which resembled a handgun.
“Eh, probably good you didn’t see it,” he said as he spun the object and threw it into his belt. “You would’ve hated the ending.” Even though Derrek couldn’t see what was happening, he had a feeling the man was showing off.
The shape turned and began to leave when the body of the creature began to convulse and undulate. The wound in its chest healed over rapidly, its head began to grow back, and its limbs were violently twitching.
“Damn it, I had twenty dollars on you not being that far gone,” the man said as he moved his arms around, apparently looking for something. “But looking back on it, if eating even one person usually does the trick, a hundred almost definitely would. Oh, well, you know what they say, right?”
The creature was fully reformed at this point and was shrieking at the man, its teeth dripping with saliva and its claws raised.
“Hindsight’s twenty-twenty.”
The monster pounced at the man, but before it made contact, the room was suddenly filled with fire. Derrek felt intense heat, making him scream in agony. He could feel his flesh melting off his bones, every agonizing second as he felt his skin char and his clothes fused to his body. He felt his organs begin to liquefy. He felt pure pain as every nerve in his body melted away.
Then he felt nothing.
Derrek woke with a start, nearly falling out of his seat. He took off his headphones and rubbed his eyes, trying to get his senses back. The bus wasn’t moving anymore, so he guessed they had reached their destination.
Looking around, he saw all of the seats were empty, including the drivers. Through the windshield, he saw bright lights and a grand entrance to a large building.
He began to gather his things when he realized there was a note taped to his shirt. He took it off, careful not to rip it. In the light from the entrance, he could see it read, “Go on in whenever you wake up. They’ll take care of you at the front desk. Oh, and keep the headphones. I stole them from the plane anyway. See you tomorrow, 600 sharp! —MAJ. Reynolds.”
He checked his phone to see just how long he had slept; by his calculations, he had been alone on the bus for almost two hours.
He left the bus and took a second to appreciate the massive hotel before him. He had seen pictures when he made the reservations but wasn’t prepared for how extravagant it looked in person.
It was twenty-five stories tall, more of a skyscraper than a hotel, and Derrek knew it had five layers of parking beneath it. The giant neon sign was at least a hundred feet up, and each letter was fifteen feet tall, reading in bright orange, “SCHADENFREUDE.”
The entrance was decorated with huge marble columns wrapped with golden ivy in a perfectly symmetrical pattern. The doors were large enough to let people come in droves, and on each side, there was a small but fitting fountain, filled with coins from all around the world.
Derrek had never seen anything like this, spending the majority of his life in New York, leaving for only a month in Hawaii six years earlier after losing a similar bet with Shale. It was intimidating and awe-inspiring, clearly the result of someone who truly loves their work.
He caught himself staring at the building, standing in front of the entrance for longer than he should, and decided to go in. He was simultaneously greeted by the doorman and the smell of lavender. The lobby matched the entrance, with ample seating, several televisions with wireless headphones, a row of four elevators with glass doors, and a large roaring fireplace in the center of it all made from what Derrek could only assume was a hollowed-out pillar of solid marble, matching the ones he saw outside. It was an open concept. Each floor had a balcony. The ceiling went all the way up and was capped with a pyramid-shaped window wrapped around the chimney.
He must have been standing there for a while because the woman at the front desk waved him over.
“Kann ich Dir helfen?” she asked as he approached. Derrek didn’t have time to learn much of the language beyond “Where is the bathroom?” so he searched his bag for his German-to-English dictionary. As soon as she saw the cover, she said, “Oh, don’t worry. Most people here speak English.”
“Really?” Derrek asked, questioning his purchase. “I guess I paid nine ninety-nine for nothing.”
She laughed and started tapping some keys on her computer. “Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes, I’m with the Frostbyte party.”
“I thought you all checked in hours ago. Did you get caught in traffic?”
“No, I’ve actually been asleep on one of the busses for a couple of hours. It was a long flight.”
She laughed again. “I understand, and what was your name?”
“Derrek Snowe, with two R’s, a K, and an E after the W.”
She typed for a few seconds, then said, “Ah, there you are. Room 719. Here’s your key.” She handed him a plastic card with the Schadenfreude logo and said with a big smile, “Enjoy your stay!”
“Thank you ver—”
He cut himself off and began flipping through the pages of his guide. Once he found what he was looking for, he said, “Danke schon,” and hurried off to his room before he could hear her say how poorly he had pronounced it.
Behind him, however, the woman smiled, glad he put in the effort, and waved to him once he got in the elevator. He waved back, embarrassed, and pressed the button for the seventh floor.
The ride was quick, and the glass doors were so clear, he wasn’t sure if they were even open. Looking over the balcony, he could see the floor had a massive mosaic pattern of a flock of doves, with a ten-pointed star underneath the fireplace.
Every part of this hotel inspired awe in Derrek, and he only wished he was awake enough to truly appreciate it. He walked along the balcony, looking for his room, and found it after a minute or so of sauntering along, admiring his surroundings. There was a small sign hung on the doorknob, which read, “Reserved.”
He smiled, knowing this was likely Shale’s doing, stuck his card into the slot, and went inside. The room didn’t quite match the lobby, but it was still the nicest place Derrek had ever laid his head. He booked everyone with single rooms since they had enough rooms to accommodate them and it was surprisingly more cost-effective to do so.
The room was large, around four hundred square feet, with its own balcony and a view of the beautiful countryside, although he couldn’t see much of it at the moment. The bed was queen-sized, with a comforter that resembled either a cloud or a pile of freshly-picked cotton and a matching nightstand on both sides, with ornate lamps. On the wall opposite the bed, there was a long dresser topped with a fifty-inch plasma TV, with the remote perfectly placed on one of the nightstands alongside the channel guide and a landline phone. In the corner aside from the sliding glass door was a minibar, which he was sure he’d get to know on a personal level throughout his stay.
Derrek was too tired to worry about figuring out which shows were on which channel, and he just wanted to sleep in an actual bed. He tossed his bag next to the dresser and rummaged around in it until he found his pajama pants, into which he quickly changed.
They were his favorite pair, a Christmas gift from Shale years before. Blue plaid, covered with patches and near threadbare, but he wouldn’t give them up for anything. No matter where he was, when he wore them he felt safe enough to sleep.
And sleep he did, almost immediately after climbing into the bed. It was softer than he could ever have imagined. The sheets underneath felt like silk, and the pillow made it feel like his head was floating on a cloud of pure comfort.