Chapter 9

After our last battle we continued on our way to our destination. We’d traveled through the remainder of the day, and had yet to be attacked. Eventually the trees and grassy fields dissipated revealing sand and cacti. We were about halfway there.

We walked down the highway, but hadn’t seen any cars yet. This place felt forgotten. No street lamps lit our path, we relied solely on the light from the moon and stars.

A cool breeze blew through our hair, now that the sun had set, the desert was cooling off, a welcome feeling after the battles we’d endured in the day.

A warm and yet awful smell accompanies us along the journey, as it rises through the air and seemingly sticks to us. No matter the distance we walked it still clung to us like a stray dog. We’d walked through the hot desert for about an hour before the sun set, so we’d all sweated our fair share, which made the breeze all the more welcome.

Ahead in the distance I spotted a bright, yellow light. It shimmered across the horizon as it neared. My head felt heavy, as if I had a fifty-pound weight on my shoulders, and my vision was growing more dim as the seconds passed. I was reaching my limit due to my injuries. We’d have to stop for the night sooner or later.

“We’ll need to stop soon; Lee isn’t looking too hot.” Mack whispered to Roku, just loud enough for me to hear.

“This is why we need a healer.” Roku responded.

“Yeah, but since we don’t have one, our next best bet is for Lee to get a good night's sleep, and let his own energy handle the basic healing.”

“Yeah, that should help. As we know, Ego, the energy that flows through our body, possesses the ability to heal. Healers train to be able to manipulate both their own and others' Ego to heal people. A skilled healer can even repair severed limbs. The rest of us who have trained our Ego are left with only a fraction of that regenerative power. Our own energy will automatically try to fix wounds, but it works slowly and incompletely, even a healer can’t heal all of their own wounds on their own. With how I am now it would take a full week at least to be back in fighting shape. But a full night of rest ought to have me in good enough shape to semi-comfortably make the rest of the journey.”

“We’d better hurry up; Lee is exposition dumping again.” Mack whispered to Roku.

As we got closer to the light it took the shape of a building. Exactly what we needed. Let's hope they are hospitable and are not, by some horrible twist of fate, a hideout for whatever Koun’s group is called.

As we got closer to the building, we spotted a woman standing in the doorway. Somehow, she made the scene quite eerie, almost as if she was expecting us. The alarm bells in my head were going off, this didn’t look good. At first, I thought this could be heaven, just what we needed just when we needed it. But it could also be hell, a trap set for us, to prey upon us in our time of need. If my instincts are right, we’d better not take the risk.

“Welcome to my hotel! What can I do you for?” The woman asked with a huge beaming smile.

“This is quite the lovely place you’ve got here. Do you think us three weary travelers could stay for the night?” Mack politely asked with a bow of his head.

“Well of course! You folks look like you’ve been through quite the ringer, I’ll make sure to give y’all our best hospitality.” She said with a sympathetic smile.

She opened the doors and showed us inside. We were greeted by a pitch-black room. Mack and Roku didn’t seem the least bit alarmed, but I hadn’t let my guard down. My gut was hardly ever wrong.

The darkness was pierced by a sudden dancing candle light. Our shadows flickered across the walls almost as if they were fleeing this place.

“Sorry about that, folks. The wiring is old and faulty, if I turned the light on now it would wake up all my other patrons. Now we can’t have that can we?” She said with a tone implying a joke somewhere in that sentence.

“No ma’am, we can’t have that.” Mack replied with a chuckle. It seems he was the only one who caught the joke.

She laughed a big hearty laugh at Mack’s remarks.

“If anything's going to wake up the patrons, it’d be that loud ass laugh.” I whispered to Roku.

“For a second I thought it was a hyena.” He whispered back.

“Right this way. You kind folks can have the best rooms in the house!” She said with a wink directed at Mack.

She led us down the hall to our rooms. It appeared they were the farthest from the entrance. That raised a red flag. Putting us far away from the entrance made escape harder. I was beginning to think my superstitions were correct.

When we passed the first door, I thought I heard a whisper, I couldn’t quite make out what it said, but I couldn’t rule it out as something I imagined either. The same thing happened at the next door, and the door following that.

“Are you hearing this?” I asked Roku with a whisper.

“Yeah, I’m starting to get a little scared. This reminds me of a scary movie…...I don’t like scary movies.” He whispered back with a frightened voice.

Roku was right, this was giving off scary movie vibes. A hotel in the middle of the desert. The only worker we’ve seen was waiting for us outside. The whispers, the placement of our rooms, my gut instinct, everything was pointing to that.

“It's alright, at the first hint of aggression, we’ll make a break for it.” I reassured him.

As we passed more doors the whispers became louder and clearer. It wasn’t a warning, it wasn’t a threat, instead, it was a welcome.

“Welcome to Carolina’s Hotel.” They all whispered.

Every door we passed gave the same message, with the only difference being the voice imparting the message.

“This sure is a lovely place you got here.” Mack said, breaking the silence.

“Oh well ain't you a charmer.” She responded to his compliment.

“Well, as they always say, a lovely place is always accompanied by a lovely face.” Mack with a charming smile, which almost looked menacing in the candle light.

“Oh, you.” She chuckled and hid her blushing face as we arrived at the door at the end of the hall.

“I thought we were getting three rooms?” I asked in confusion upon seeing the lone door.

“Well of course you are! That door leads to three rooms connected by one central living room. I did say I’d give you the best room in the house, didn’t I?” She said with a wink towards me.

We opened the door and were greeted by a rather normal looking, almost modern, room with four doors, presumably leading to the other rooms and the bathroom. We entered the room, but the lady remained in the doorway behind us.

“Well, I hope you folks have a lovely night. There's always plenty of room at my hotel, and we’re open all year! So, if you folks are ever back in town, you’ll always have a place to stay!” She assured us before turning to walk back the way we came.

Suddenly she stopped and turned her head towards us.

“Hope y’all make it through the night all right.” And with those menacing remarks, she left.

Mack calmly laid down on the couch with a sigh.

“Finally, some rest. It's been a long day, right guys?” Mack yawned a giant yawn, letting all of the stress of the day go.

When he finished off his yawn and opened his eyes he was greeted by the sight of Roku and I tearing apart the room.

“What in the hell are you guys doing!?” Mack shot up in surprise.

“Making sure we survive the night! This thing reeks of a set up!” I said as I threw the room upside down checking for anything weird.

“I don’t like this scary movie shit, I don’t like this scary movie shit, I don’t like-” Roku repeated that phrase as he fearfully searched for any traps within the room.

“You guys are losing it! I have no idea what y’all are so scared of! We were fortunate to find this place, and have been treated with respect by that nice lady. Y’all should be grateful for this, not destroying the room! Especially you Lee! If we didn’t find this place, there is no way you would heal in time!” Mack appeared to be furious at what we were doing. He didn’t understand, he seemed to be the nice guy type. Always trusting without a second thought.

“You don’t get it buddy; we’re in big trouble! They could be preparing their ambush right now! That lady is probably the ringleader, we’re as good as dead if we don’t do something!” I frantically explained. I didn’t have time to go into depth, but he should understand by now that it's serious.

“That’s horseshit and y’all know it, you're obviously not right in the head. Lee I can understand, earlier today he didn’t even remember me due to the head trauma, but you too Roku?”

Mack rejected what I said, blaming it on paranoia due to my earlier injury and bluff. I guess bullshitting can have consequences. He turned to Roku expecting a rebuttal, but instead was met with

“I don’t like this scary movie shit, I don't like this scary movie shit, I don't like this scary movie shit.” Roku continued his frightened ramblings. It looks like he really doesn’t like scary movies.

“Really Roku? Not giving me any back up?” I said to him as he made us look even crazier.

“Listen Mack, does none of this raise any flags for you? Not the creepy lady waiting outside for us as if she knew we’d arrive, not having exactly enough rooms available, not our room being the furthest from the entrance, not the need for it to be dark, and not the whispers of the other patrons? Not her weird ass closing remarks? Does none of it strike you as sketchy?” From the look on his face, I lost him when I mentioned the whispers.

“Really Lee? You’re hearing voices? Your injuries are a lot worse than I thought. Like I said earlier, we’re lucky to have found this place, you should be grateful instead of destroying the place and insulting the owner.” Mack said with a worried look.

Despite what Mack said, I still had that feeling of uneasiness, I still could tell something was wrong. He may not see it, but Roku and I did. And he was too busy being all buddy-buddy with that lady to have heard them either

…...Wait a minute, something else isn’t right.

I thought back to earlier. I first “met” Mack today. He claimed to have known Roku and I for years, but neither of us remembered him. And now he is ignoring all the obvious red flags. This confirms my earlier worries.

“You’re in on it aren't you!?” I threw my accusation at him.

“W-What? What are you talking about?” His feelings seemed to be hurt by my words, but I couldn’t take any chances. Like Roku, I also didn’t like scary movies.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about! You’re being very suspicious, especially how you were acting with that chick! You guys are definitely in on it together!” I hurled more accusations to try and catch him off guard.

“That? I was being nice to try and get us a discount on our rooms. Is it that weird to be nice to people?” He asked with a sad tone.

“You don’t even trust me? I thought we were friends.” Mack had a depressed, dejected look, perhaps I had gone too far. Time to rethink my strategy.

“You're right, I’m sorry...But you didn’t trust me either. There is something wrong with this place and this whole setup, it's better to be safe than sorry right?” Maybe now he’ll believe me.

“You’re right, I’ll trust you.” Mack said with a sigh.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile.

“Now let's set up some traps of our own, then when they come, we’ll-” A gun shot sounded through the air.

“What the-” I was cut off once more as a second shot hit me in the back of the head.

“I’m sorry, It's for your own good, Lee.” Mack said as he held his smoking revolver.

“You bastard!” Roku lunged at him but caught a shot to his chest before he reached him.

“I’m sorry guys, I didn’t wanna do it, but y’all were freaking out. They’re taser rounds, so you’ll be fine in the morning. You guys deserve a good night's sleep.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Mack explained before we lost consciousness.

Mack carried Roku and I to our respective beds, and like a worried mom he tucked us in our covers, made sure we were all comfy and snug, and gave us a goodnight kiss on the forehead.

Just like that, our uneventful night ended.

***

Before we knew it, morning had come. The night had passed without incident. No booby traps had gone off, no assassins in the middle of the night, and no more scary movie shit. Maybe I had jumped to conclusions.

I swung my legs out from under the sheets and rose out of bed.

“Arms, check. Legs, check. Head, check. Back, check. That's much better!” I checked each body part individually to see how well they healed overnight. There was almost no lingering pain left in my arms and legs, but my head and back still weren’t back in mint condition. I wouldn’t be able to fight, but I could finish the journey just fine now.

The question was how did I end up in bed exactly? I remember searching for traps, convincing Mack to trust us, and then it gets hazy after that. I vaguely remember a mother-like figure tucking me in though.

Well, it doesn’t really matter, we made it through the night safely and without incident. I walked out into the central room that was connected to all three of our rooms. Mack was already up and running about the kitchen brewing coffee, while Roku had awoken earlier but passed out on the couch again.

“Oh Lee, did you sleep okay? How are your injuries?” Mack asked when he saw me emerge.

“I slept pretty well, the pillow was extraordinarily comfy, and the sounds of the waves were soothing, it was like all my troubles melted away like the sunset. We’re not anywhere near the ocean so that was probably a dream.” I told him as I stretched that morning grogginess away.

“From your movements I also take it your injuries are all right.” He said with a laugh.

“Yeah, they are basically fine. I’m not back to being in fighting shape by any means, but having no pain in my arms or legs is nice. My back and head on the other hand still have a weird tingling feeling.” I explained.

“Oh, that's… good” Mack’s response made him seem guilty, I wonder what for? It wasn’t his fault I got the shit kicked out of me; he was fighting his own fight.

“Well now that all of us are up, let's go to the lobby to get some breakfast!” Mack quickly regained his composure.

“But Roku is still-” I was cut off as Mack awoke Roku with a *bonk* on the head from his coffee pot.

We soon arrived in the lobby where we would enjoy a hearty breakfast.

The lobby was filled with all the other patrons. People of varying age, gender, and race. People from all walks of life had gathered in this quaint hotel in the middle of nowhere.

“Last night really was kind of weird though, wasn’t it?” I said, laughing off our fears from the previous night.

“I really don’t like scary movies.” Roku embarrassedly laughed along.

“Wait, this is just like the time with that guy you thought was a ghost! Are you just scared of things you can’t punch?” Mack brought up a point I had overlooked.

“That’s right! You really were scared of that, weren’t you?” Mack and I began laughing.

“Oh yeah, wasn’t that also the time you ended up in the hospital for getting hit with your own attack, Lee?” Roku responded with a sip of his orange juice.

“Oh yeah, good times. You know what else was fun? Waking up at three in the morning in my hospital bed by Koun, good thing you were still there to protect me......at three in the morning.” I sarcastically mocked him.

“Why were you in his room at three in the morning?” Mack asked with a laugh.

“Excuse me? Did you by any chance just call that man Lee?” Our friendly banter was interrupted by an unknown voice.

We all turned to face him. He sat cross legged at the edge of the room with a table to himself. He was a middle-aged gentleman; his clothes were well kept and in tip-top shape. In one hand he held a teacup and the other a teapot. While maintaining eye contact with us, he poured himself a cup of hot tea, right to the brim of the cup.

“Are you by any chance, that ‘Lee’?” He questioned us.

“And what if he is?” Roku responded with caution.

“Come you three...have a seat.” He motioned to the three open spots at his table.

Roku and Mack looked at each other, wondering what the next course of action should be, but before they could decide, I walked and sat at his table.

“Pour me a cup, please” I sat down across from him at the table.

“Lee, what are you doing?” Mack asked as he and Roku sat down.

“What is it you wish to discuss?” I asked the stranger, ignoring Mack’s question.

“Well, you see, from what I overheard, I believe our paths have crossed for a reason.” The man poured Mack, Roku, and I each a cup of tea.

“And what might that reason be?” I asked as I took a sip of tea.

“Well, I think we both have things that could be beneficial to one another. I know who you are, and what you want, and I can give you what you want. But you have something that I want as well.” He explained as he finished pouring Roku and Mack their tea.

“Is that so? Well, what might they be?” The tea he gave me was quite tasty.

“I believe this would be best figured out over a game of cards.” The man said as he drew a small box from his shirt pocket.

“Poker?” Mack asked, but the man shook his head.

“Not poker, that game relies too much on luck for my taste. We have four people here, that’s the perfect amount for a game of ‘battle cards’.” The man said as he opened the small box to reveal his cards.

“Wait Lee, are you sure about this? We don’t even have our own cards.” Mack worriedly asked.

“Nonsense, I always have my deck on me.” I responded while pulling my own deck box from my pocket.

“I didn’t forget about you guys either.” I handed Mack and Roku each a deck.

“Oh......Neat.” Mack dejectedly responded.

“Why do you have three decks of trading cards on your person at all times?” Roku asked yet another stupid question.

“And I can guess that we'll be playing for information?” I ignored Mack’s concerns and took my cards into my hand.

“Well, what I want can’t really be called information, but what you’ll get certainly fits that description.” Our opponent said as he took his cards into his hand.

“Seriously Lee? You were so worried yesterday but you're fine with this?” Mack whispered to me.

“He’s right, isn’t this exactly like that part with that one guy in that one show you watch? What was the guy’s name, Barby or something?” Roku whispered.

“Well, I certainly hope it’s worth our precious time. Left of the challenger starts.” I said, ignoring their questions and telling Roku to begin.

Battle cards was the most popular card game around. It was a true challenge of mental fortitude, strategy, and skill. People have studied the rules, cards, and strategies for years, trying to find the best deck, the best strategy, anything to get ahead. It would take hours of explaining and practicing just to gain a basic understanding of the game, page upon page, just for the most basic explanation. So, I’m not going to do that.

“I’d say it is worth that precious time of yours, and I’d also say the odds are stacked in your favor. Three against one doesn't quite tip the scale in my direction.” The man said as Roku finished his turn.

“So, then why’d you challenge us? You’ve got to have something up your sleeve.” I said as my turn began.

“Well that I do have. You see, I have never once lost a game of cards in my life. After I obtained my powers, I got everything I needed to succeed every time.” The man said with little worry in his voice.

“Lee, he mentioned his powers, should we do it now?” Mack asked.

“He’s right Lee. This seems wrong, even I can tell that much. There's gotta be some trick, like if we lose, we die or something. Just like that one show you like.” Roku agreed with Mack and gave some advice himself.

“We’ll, that’s because you haven’t played against me yet. I learned this game from the best of the best, someone who should have been unbeatable by all reaches of logic, and yet I beat him. I don’t care who you are, you’ve already lost the minute you play against me.” I finished my sentence as I finished my turn.

“Some more tea, Victor?” Our dramatic game of cards was interrupted by the server asking my opponent a question.

“Yes please, and get me a pastry as well. You know the kind I like, Sharoline.” He answered the server.

“You seem to be quite friendly with the servers, Victor.” Mack asked as he finished his turn.

“Why yes, I am. I know everyone here, and everyone knows me. You three are the only outsiders here.” The man replied as he began his turn.

“Oh...neat.” Mack replied with a nervous gulp.

“It's as you said Lee, I have never faced you. But the opposite is also true! You may have beaten a so-called unbeatable opponent, but I AM an unbeatable opponent. I have never met someone who could even come close to rivaling me. I am Victor, and I will be the victor.” No one laughed at his pun, instead, Mack seemed to be even more nervous.

“Lee, I really don’t like this. I was wrong about this place; this really is sketchy.” Mack worriedly whispered to me.

“It's your turn, Roku.” I ignored his words, instead focusing all my energy on the task at hand.

Roku’s turn came and went, and I was back up.

“You may say that Victor, but have you played against someone who knew your every move ages before you knew it, but still couldn’t beat you. Even though they knew your entire game plan, even though they knew every card you’d draw, and every card you’d play, they still couldn’t counter it? Because if not, then you stand no chance against me!” I would not lose this game.

“That’s where you are mistaken. I don’t need to know your game plan, I don’t need to know your cards, because I’ve planned for everything! I had the odds stacked against you before you even came in! With my powers, I’ve won before we even began playing! I will get what I want without fail! You are already mine, Lee!” Victor shouted his claims of victory.

“Enough! Do it Mack!” Roku shouted before jumping up from his seat.

Roku grabbed Victor by the back of his head and slammed his head into the table, sending everyone’s tea and the cards flying.

“Jesus-Tapdancing-Christ!” I yelled in surprise. My surprise was then amplified by what followed.

“Everyone back off, or he gets it!” Mack yelled as he fired two shots from his gun.

“Oh no, they’ve got Victor!” The server who was bringing him his tea yelled out in surprise.

“What the hell are you guys doing? He was playing right into my plan!” My victory was snatched from my hands by those who were supposed to be my friends.

“You better tell us what we want to know or his gun is gonna be the least of your worries!” Roku yelled at Victor while pushing his face into the table.

“I-”

“What was that!?” Roku slammed his head onto the table before asking him again.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Victor yelled out.

“You're gonna give us what we want! I don’t care if it's him or one of you, but we are gonna get what we want!” Mack addressed the room as he pushed his gun against Victor's head. A server got up and ran towards the next room.

“Shit! One’s getting away!” Roku yelled, drawing Mack’s attention to it.

“Don’t move!” Mack fired a shot next to Victor’s head, purposely missing.

“I’m sorry sir! I’ll get you what you want! It’s in the next room, just don’t hurt Victor!” The server yelled out in fear.

“Okay, but no funny business!” Roku told her as he held a tight grip on Victor.

“This is bad, we are severely outnumbered. We are lucky these guys value their group members, otherwise they would have taken us down with Victor.” Mack said.

“Yeah, it's a good thing we didn’t finish the game, otherwise that guy would have taken our souls or something. Now let’s hope they give us the location of Koun. The hard part is escaping after we get that. Do we hold onto Victor as a hostage? Or just make a break for it?” Roku asked.

“What are you guys talking about?” I asked, but received no answer.

“If all of them are on the same level as the last guys we faced we’ll be in serious trouble.” Mack thought aloud.

“What’s the plan Lee? You're usually the one who thinks ahead.” Roku asked me.

“You guys don’t get it do yo-” I was cut off as the server ran in carrying a bag.

“Here you go sir, it's what you wanted, now please let Victor go!” She pleaded.

“Alright, now let's get out of here”

“...” “...”

“...Wait, what?” Mack cluelessly asked.

When he’d opened the bag, instead of being greeted by a map of all the enemy hideouts, information on Koun, or anything along that line, Mack was greeted by a bag filled entirely with money.

“That's all we have! I even got all of it from everyone's wallets, now please don’t hurt him anymore!” The server began to cry.

“.... Huh?”

“Do you guys not get it? You’re robbing the place!” I shouted at them.

“....”

“.... Oh”

“Wait, so these guys aren’t Koun’s underlings?” Roku asked.

“No, you idiot! They never said they were!”

“But what about him knowing what we needed?

And having something he needed from us if he won?

Wasn’t it our souls or something?” Roku asked.

“I never said anything about souls! I just wanted to beat Lee! I just thought we were playing cards!” Victor spat out with tears of fear in his eyes.

“Well, what was the information you had? Wasn’t it Koun’s location?” Mack asked.

“I don’t even know who that is! I met your brother and he wanted me to tell you they are safe and pursuing a lead! I don’t even know what that meant!” Victor began to cry.

“......I’m so sorry.”

“......We messed up.” Mack and Roku apologized, as if that would make a difference.

“You guys messed up.” I shook my head at their stupidity.

“Wait, if you weren’t suspicious of him, then why were you so intense?” a very panicked Mack asked.

“Because I recognized that!” I pointed to the hat the man was wearing. It was from the 26th world card championship, it read “King of Cards”

“I used to go to those tournaments, to learn ’strategy'. I had won the previous couple years, but stopped going. His hat is the first one since I retired. Because of that, they undoubtedly would have compared him to me. Saying things like “It would have been different if Lee was here” or ‘Good job second place, you’re not really the best if you haven’t beaten Lee.’ That would have driven him mad to no end. This whole time he must’ve been seeking a match between us. Knowing that, I had no choice but to respect his wish-” I was interrupted by the sound of sirens outside.

“Shit.” We all said at once.

“What do we do?”

“I'm not going to jail again!”

“Drop the cash, Mack!”

We all panicked. We had accidentally held about 50 people at gunpoint and robbed them blind. We terrorized the kind people who had given us hospitality when we needed it. We were bad guys in their eyes.

“I have a plan guys.”

“What is it?” My words stopped their panicking. The one thing I was good at was thinking of ways out and around things, hence my skill at cards.

“A wise man once told me this plan. I only ever use it as a last resort, when I have no other options.” I explained.

“First, drop the money bag. Even if it was an accident, that would still be robbing these people.” I told Mack.

“And then?” Roku asked.

“Then….”

“We get the hell out of here!” I turned and began sprinting toward the back, hoping for there to be a back exit.

“Shit!” Roku and Mack followed me.

We frantically ran down the halls. This is quite the wacky and uncharacteristic scenario we have found ourselves in. We’ve been in some crazy situations over the years, but I’ve never had to run from the cops before. Dealing with just Roku’s idiocy was enough, but now that Mr. Machina is in the story, it seems there are two dunces to get us in trouble.

I looked over at Roku to see how they were holding up when...

“What are you doing!? Let go of Victor!” To my surprise Roku still had Victor over his shoulder, hauling him along for our getaway.

“I thought-”

“No! Bad guys take hostages! Let him go.” Mack scolded him.

Roku stopped to carefully set Victor down and gave him a pat on the head.

“Sorry for the trouble, but for the record, I would have won that turn if I wasn’t interrupted.” I told him with an additional pat on the head before we booked it when the police entered the building.

We leapt through a window in one of the rooms and ran off into the desert. Now I can check off “rob a hotel full of people” off of my bucket list, not that it was on it in the first place.

We continued to flee until I was quite sure there was nobody on our trail.

“We’re in the clear.” I stopped to catch my breathe.

Mack collapsed beside me, thoroughly exhausted from our marathon, and Roku sat down, mumbling a variety of curse words under his breathe.

Now that that little detour is over, we can finally complete our journey. Our destination isn’t too far from here, so as long as we don’t run into any more nuisances, we’ll be there in no time.

“We will never speak of this again.”

“Agreed.”

Our stay in that nice, little hotel turned out to be not-so uneventful after all.