Your petals open to reveal a familiar room. A small, simple hotel room, with a nice bed, two sets of drawers, dirty red carpet, an unpowered fridge, and two closed doors. There are no windows, nor large holes in the walls. Even the odd painting in every hotel room hangs unperturbed.
Yet you smell something odd. Blood. The bathroom door clicks, then opens. A young girl, about your daughter's age, walks out into view. Her hands and knees are covered in blood, much to her annoyance. She walks over to one of the drawers, the one next to the fridge, and takes out a screwdriver. She gives a dissatisfied sigh, returning to the bathroom and closing the door.
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You blink. Time passes. There's no more running water. Now you can hear the ticking of a clock right below you, though you can't read it. Unlucky.
The other door opens, that same girl walking in with a forced smile. You can just barely see a larger figure walk away behind her, before she closes the door, her smile falling. Going over to the drawer by the bed, she opens it and takes out a book. Jumping into bed, she opens and begins reading. The cover has some kind of mushroom on it, and you can't read the title.
After a few moments, she puts down the book and looks directly at you. Her face is a mix of surprise and glee, as she gets up and walks towards you. She holds up the book's cover, 'Identifying Fungi 2nd Edition'. A useful book, if a little outdated. Not that there are any recent publications.
Putting down the book, she fiddles around below you. She manages to pry the clock off the wall and brings it over to the desk opposite you. Now you know the time; 6:17. Analog, which is a bit annoying, but it's better than before.
She gives you a thumbs up, before picking up the book and returning to the bed to read. She was smiling.
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You blink. It's now 4:43. The girl is sitting on the bed, eating a bowl of burnt meat and scraps of old lettuce. An unappetizing meal, but with how vigorously she's eating, it's clear she was starving before.
Finishing most of the meal, she carries a small sliver of meat to the fridge. A putrid, sulfuric smell burns you as she quickly tosses the meat in and closes the door. The girl covers her mouth and lets out a small cough, trying to suppress as much sound as possible.
She sits still. 5 seconds. 10 seconds. 20 seconds. 1 minute. Only after 2 minutes of silence does she move.
Carefully walking over to the painting, she removes it from the wall. It reveals a small alcove, where some thread and a lighter is hidden. She turns to look at you, and gives a nod. Taking out the lighter and thread, she goes over to the drawer by the bed.
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First she takes out the book. Then a plank of wood. Then a large knife. A small blue backpack. A water bottle. A first aid kit. And finally, a glowing gem. Packing everything into the backpack, she puts it back into the drawer.
The girl hesitates, before shaking her head. Taking the gem back out, she instead puts it into the alcove. She returns the painting to its original position, stuffs the bag into the drawer, and stares at you for a few moments. She gives a soft smile, eyes full of determination, before going to bed.
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You blink. It's 6:51. The putrid smell of sulfur burns you. The fridge has been moved from it's original position to next to the bed. A thread hangs from the door, leading across the carpet, to the bathroom. There is soft coughing. Then the thread begins to burn.
You begin hearing heavy footsteps in the hallway. A grumble, before a very deep voice calls out, "Oi, shut your coughing! Some of us are trying to sleep!"
The girl doesn't respond. The thread continues to burn.
"Hello? When I say something, I expect a response."
Still nothing. The thread burns resolutely.
"Dammit, you bitch! Don't make me come in there!" Something hits the door. Some sort of dust falls from the ceiling. A hand reaches out of the bathroom, jamming a broom into the door.
The thread is almost at the fridge. The carpet begins popping blue flames.
A loud crunch comes from the door as you see what appears to be an axe buried next to the door handle. A hand reaches through the hole and fumbles around, looking for the handle. It turns it, but the door doesn't open, the broom doing it's job. A series of curses and other footsteps fill the hallway.
The thread reaches the fridge. A blue explosion blasts the wall, revealing the world outside. A dead city, the pale sun rising, and a winged monstrosity in the distance.
The girl jumps out of the bathroom and runs to the hole, jumping through with no hesitation. She gives you one last smile, before running away. You watch as she hops a chain fence and into the streets, turns left, and runs out of view.
The door breaks down, as several armed men run into the room. They start shouting in an unfamiliar language, pointing at the hole in the wall. Some run into the hallway, others look around the room, while one stays at the hole in the wall. A bad decision.
From outside, a vythan slams through the hole. A bat-like beast tears through limbs and armor of the man it landed on. As the flower petals begin to close, you take one final look at the other men, fear filled eyes devoid of hope.
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You return to the ruined hotel room. Vines now hang over the hole in the wall, as some rotten blue mold invades the carpet. The bed is shredded, but still usable for anyone dumb enough to ignore the hole. The drawers are drawn open, something searching through it. And the painting remains, bloodied but still hanging. You remove it, revealing a small alcove with a small glowing gem, the size of a fingernail.
A mana gem, slightly decayed due to time, but still intact. You put it away, giving a silent thanks to the girl. Maybe you silently hope this isn't the last you see of them. But time isn't kind, and the sun will set soon. You go to the hole, brush away the vines, and look at the moon rising above the empty city.