Tony and Anne were walking as gently as they could manage to the room’s door. They had only brought a few items with them. Chargers, phones, a change of clothes, and their identification. The clothing and chargers were left behind by both. Tony’s phone was on the nightstand next to the bed. Neither of them noticed.

Their minds were racing and incredibly loud. They were desperate to get to safety, however they continuously doubted their internal conclusions of what “safety” was defined as for them. Was this room the safest? Was running the safest? Would danger come from the room next door? Would it come from the door to the hallway? Was Carl ok? Was Mel?

They reached the door and Tony clasped the handle. Before moving it, the duo listened intently for noises outside of their security. No sounds were coming from the next room nor the hallway. Tony looked through the peephole to ensure nothing was waiting for him on the other side. However, nothing could be seen through the hole. It was completely black.

Tony grumbled internally, “This dirty fucking hotel and its dirty fucking doors.” His arm tensed up, forearm flexed, as he began to gradually turn the handle. Anne’s arm shot out to grab Tony’s. He managed to stifle the gasp that wanted to tear out of his mouth. He looked at Anne, bewildered. Anne looked at him like she was trying to swallow a scream of her own.

She mouthed, “Wait.”

Tony was perplexed until he heard it. It sounded like heavy breathing. He looked through the hole again. Still pitch black. Right before he peeled his head back, the blackness of the view began to move. A torso moved back and exposed a large, muscular body hidden by a long-sleeved jacket. The neck was thick, but the head was not in frame. Tony shuddered. Anne could read what his body language meant.

Whoever that was, had been listening. The body turned and walked away. Apparently the couple had been quiet enough to avoid suspicion. They both got their breathing under control.

A few minutes had passed with nothing of note taking place. The two had stayed in place, statuesque. Neither of them dared to move a muscle until they were able to convince themselves that the outside presence was no longer in their vicinity. Anne whispered to Tony, “Let’s move away from the door. Whoever was outside has a gun, they could shoot through this.” She gestured towards the room’s main exit when she said this.

Tony gritted his teeth. He felt incredibly dim for neglecting to remember this fact. The word “worthless” continued to bounce inside of his psyche like the logo of an early 2000s DVD player’s screensaver.

Once in the middle of the room, Anne continued whispering, “Who was that?”

“I don’t know, babe. I couldn’t see his face, even after he backed up. That man has to be closer to seven foot than six if that’s the case. But they didn’t try getting in either… so maybe it was just some dude?”

Anne mulled this possibility over and then responded, “That just doesn’t make sense to me. Why would he be outside our door? Why would he be next door if he didn’t know who was staying here?”

“If he’s just a dude, maybe he heard the gunshots? Maybe he was checking in on rooms to see if folks left? Maybe a thief? Wouldn’t be surprised if Carl left his room open, the dumbass”

“I’m not sure that tracks for me. Have we heard anyone leave their rooms?”

“If I’m honest, I haven’t been paying attention. If folks left after the shots, I didn’t hear. But I also wasn’t really listening, y’know?”

“Yeah, me neither. So either this is the guy, and he really is after us. Or it’s just a guy. Some dude trying to check in on who else is in the hotel, or trying to steal, or… even worse. Someone who came here to shoot this place up and rob it while the storm hits.”

Tony forcefully closed his eyes, a headache brewing inside of him. What was the correct course of action? So many variables to think about and Tony’s brain was rejecting most due to their complicated intricacies. Too many options to think about. He was beginning to feel lightheaded again, but smothered the feelings down as low as they could be pushed.

“Ok,” Tony began, “if Carl left his room’s door open maybe he left this side door open. Whoever was in their room didn’t try to open the door. So there’s a good chance he didn’t think of this. Makes me feel a little better, because if he was after us he would’ve taken the chance to get into our room.”

“The last place he was, was the hallway. So it’s probably ok to assume that he’s around other rooms, if we’re quiet, he won’t hear us. So we stay put.”

“I agree. That’s a good idea, babygirl. I’m going to check and see if I can get into the next room. If the door’s open then that shouldn’t be a problem. I’d like to see if Carl brought anything that might help us protect ourselves. Maybe you can put the clamp back on the door to make it a little more secure.”

Anne smiled at Tony, “Look at you taking charge.”

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Tony gave an embarrassed chuckle, “I wouldn’t say that. I just want to do right by you.”

He stepped to the door and gripped the handle. It began to twist and shake. Someone was on the other side trying to get in.

Tony instinctually stepped back, hands in the air. His head jerked to look at Anne. Her eyes were wide in horror. The silver lining for the two was that the door separating the rooms was indeed locked.

Tony began softly walking towards Anne. He jumped as the sound of a shoulder banged against the door. It was followed by two swift, consecutive slams. Anne was twisting the top lock as quickly as she could without making blatant noises.

The side door’s handle began moving around sporadically again as the unseen force jerked it from side to side. Anne opened the front door successfully and poked her head out. The door to the next room was closed right now. Whoever was inside that room wouldn’t know they had left. Tony followed her outside and began slowly closing the door. He peeked inside and his stomach dropped. The door handle was no longer twisting back and forth. It was turning to one side. It continued twisting further than a locked handle should. Had the person inside been messing with them? Was the door open and he was just trying to funnel them into the hallway?

The door handle jutted out. It had indeed been twisted beyond its capacity and tore off its screws. The knob dropped to the floor as the door flew open. The figure entered the room quickly, but not desperately. He surveyed the room. He looked to the door. It was closed.

The figure began throwing blankets off the bed and slinging open every door he came across. He made it to the hallway door. The door was unlocked. Whoever had been in here, had fled.

____________________________________________________________________________

Tony and Anne had made it to the stairwell and were descending them rapidly. Through heavy breaths Tony spoke up, “So we need to find Carl and tell him to get the fuck out of dodge with us.”

Anne prompted, “Mel?”

“Fuck, forgot about him. Look, if he’s there then he’s there. If he’s not, then it is what it is. This guy is officially after us. He’s killed someone around Mel, but not Mel himself. That tells me he doesn’t give a shit about that dude. As much as I hate to admit it, I can relate. Right now, it’s about us. It’s about you.”

“Tony, we can’t leave him. If he’s there, we need to make sure he comes with us.” Tony gritted his teeth. He didn’t like how selfish he was being so openly exposed, but he didn’t regret saying what he said. In this moment, that was his truth.

The two emerged from the stairwell and analyzed their surroundings. To their left was the hallway that led to a handful of rooms. To their right was the lobby and reception desk. The two jogged to the lobby and then froze. They saw an arm on the ground poking out just behind a couch, from the left side. As they approached the furniture, the atmosphere seemed to shift. They saw a bullet hole through a window yards behind the couch that concealed this unknown individual. As they continued getting closer, they saw another bullet hole in the ceiling. Whoever was in the room above was likely given a panic attack from the chaos.

A stench was in the early stages of permeating in the area they were walking towards. Both of them knew what this probably meant. Whoever was behind the couch might not be alive. Anne stopped just short of the couch. Her mind was curious, but her body would not allow her to step forward. If the sight was what she imagined it would be, it would be an image that would stay with her for the rest of her life. However long or short it may be.

Tony looked at her and reassured her, “Don’t look. I’m gonna check who this is and then we need to get out of here. Carl and Mel have to be around here somewhere. Carl wouldn’t leave us. I know he wouldn’t. Check outside and see if you can find them in the parking lot. We don’t have a lot of time until that guy gets down here.”

Anne was reluctant to leave Tony, but she had to remind herself that he would be outside in the next minute or less. He’d be back, so she ran outside to do her part.

Tony breathed in, his heart pounding and his air intake wavering with nerves. He stepped forward and looked behind the couch.

Carl was seated upright. His eyes glazed over, one eye looking forward and the other lazily staring at the ceiling. As if he was trying to look at the two bullet holes simultaneously. However, there were no bullet wounds on him. His gun was inches away from his outstretched right hand. Still there. Carl shot these bullets. He was defending himself.

Tony was on the verge of tears. Carl’s throat was ripped. Not completely out of his body, but blood was lazily seeping out. His trachea crunched together, poking out ever so slightly. His tongue was out, reaching just above the tear in his throat. His lower mandible where his tongue would generally lie, was left a few feet beyond his shoes. His lower jaw was clearly torn off. He didn’t deserve this.

Tony’s voice continued to waver as he uttered to himself, “Who the fuck are we dealing with right now?”

____________________________________________________________________________

Anne had looked over the entire parking lot. There were about twenty rooms in the hotel and the lot was looking emptier. It wasn’t necessarily full to begin with, but there had been enough folks to constitute a busy day for this hotel. She wondered why more hadn’t stayed and called the police. Why hadn’t they called anyone? Perhaps they had. In this instance she remembered she was equipped with her phone.

10:47 AM.

The snow was coming down heavier than it had been for days. The storm was very near. The police were probably sending someone, if anybody had called. There were still cars in the lot, so not everyone had left. Scared individuals staying in their rooms. Regardless, plenty had left in response to the commotion. It had been enough time and Anne was growing anxious. Where was Tony?

She started walking to the hotel. A few steps in and she heard the sound of a siren. A police cruiser was coming from the horizon.

Help. She was safe. Tony was safe. Then it dawned on her.

Where was Carl’s vehicle?