4 Chapter 3: Seek and Seek

Jared grunted under his breath as he stooped down from time to time to keep his luggage closed. A few of his clothes had burst out of it right from the moment he carried it out of the bus' compartment. He had to endure some teasing from his squad for bringing an old hardside luggage. The lock must have broken off during their travel. Maybe it was his karma for calling Daren old. Hans offered to help him but Jared insisted on doing it himself. He urged them to enter the hotel without him.

Passing through the huge wooden doors, he stopped by the reception desk to give his luggage a little kick; it ate his clothes back. He sighed heavily and looked around. Strange? The receptionists were no where to be seen and the supposed chattering guests were missing. His friends weren't sitting at the waiting lounge as well.

It was dead silent.

He pulled his luggage again and came across a wooden double door carved with designs of nature. The walls surrounding it extended from east to west. The only way to enter the lobby was right before his prying eyes.

Jared tried pushing the double door. He advanced a foot, pushed and pushed until it opened wide. Then a strange aroma faintly greeted his nose. It could be something alarming, but he shrugged it off and continued on inside, not knowing about the danger that he was going to run into. He thought that he could finally see them seated on a couch, talking and fooling around, but that expectation was horrifyingly shattered. His face went pale at the sight of his friends laying unconscious on the floor.

Dropping his luggage, he tried to catch up to them but his eyesight suddenly went out of focus. He stumbled, swayed and regained his balance a couple of times. Inhaling the strange scent more into his lungs only clouded his vision and blocked his sense of direction.

"What the hell is this . . . smell? Sleeping gas?"

When his body could no longer muster the energy to go on, he collapsed onto the floor with a loud and heavy thud. Jared tried to crawl his way to his friends but his limbs were not cooperating. For the first time, he felt helpless and weak. What was going to happen to them?

Suddenly, the sound of hollow footsteps echoed throughout the lobby. It was slow, yet, cautious.

Despite the hallucination kicking in, he still managed to land his eyes on that person's shoes while fighting off the drug's effect on him. Whoever stood before him only laughed in a low, distorted voice. He or she patiently watched him until he had completely fallen asleep.

"I'm sorry, Jared. Apparently, you were too late to see who I am. You almost ruined my plan for the first game."

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Maxine groggily sat straight up with a soft moan. She creased her forehead and her hand found its way pressing her pounding head. It was tolerable enough to handle the pain. When the throbbing sensation receded, she turned to her right then to her left. Someone familiar was sprawled on the cream carpet near the wall.

"Daren!" She hurriedly crawled right to him and grabbed his shoulders, trying to shake some sense into him. "Daren? Can you hear me? Daren!"

"I hear you . . ." Groaning, he fluttered his eyes open and fixed his blurry vision on her.

"Can you get up?"

"I think I can." With her assistance, Daren managed to sit on the floor and lean his back against the wall. He remained seated for a while, letting the stored blood in his brain flush down his system. "What happened? Where are they?"

"I've got no clue. I think . . . someone dragged us here."

Maxine examined the room, appearing to be the hotel's suite. It was completely furnished with chairs, sofas, lampshades, tables and a bed, but with the exception of the telephone. The windows were closed or rather blocked by bricks, preventing the sunlight from shining through. The curtains became useless.

Their belongings were also missing.

"Uh . . . Maxine? You might want to check that out." Daren pointed at the door.

Whipping her head around, she rose from the floor and went to grab the white sticky note on the door. She came back to his side and shared the first game instructions to him. The words written were in red ink:

Did the sleeping gas frighten you?

It is part of the game, my friend . . .

Today we will play: Seek and Seek.

This is not Hide and Seek.

You need to find each other in this hotel, which has 40 floors, garnering a total of 40,999 Rooms.

Mobiles are prohibited. I took yours away to avoid meeting up as this will disqualify you.

Before you can have your dinner together, find your way to each other. Then . . .

dinner is served!

This note will self-destruct . . . NOW!

Kidding.

You might lose your HAND.

Ha ha ha.

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Inside another suite, Meg harshly blew her bangs away after reading the note. They could be anywhere inside the hotel!

"Ugh," she pocketed the paper and darted him a serious gaze, "where should we start?"

"I don't know." Theo nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "This hotel has 40 floors and 40,999 rooms. How are we supposed to find them?"

Actually, he was more worried about Faith. He should have been with her and not with this sassy woman!

"Well, the best possible solution is to start roaming around. The earlier we find each other, the earlier we get to eat dinner." She turned to the door, twisted the doorknob and exited the suite along with him.

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4:13 p.m.

"Kacey! We're on the 24th floor, Room 24,736." Klein had been standing outside the corridor, facing their suite's door with his mouth agape. "How is it possible to have this crazy kind of number in the hotel?"

"What!" Kacey's eyes bulged out when she closely looked at the door's number. "Are you kidding me? This place is enormous! How are we going to find them if we are not allowed to have a phone? We can't even meet up in a particular place!"

Klein instantly frowned. Roaming around would be too exhausting but what other options could they choose?

"Y'know, we should probably go before someone jumps out on us."

The yellow lights emitting from the wall lamps were quite dim, leaving several areas of the long corridor dark. The only thing lacking was an evil entity materializing to scare them off. Hopefully, that would never happen.

Shuddering, he wrapped his arms around himself. "This is givin' me the chills!"

She scoffed and crossed her arms on her chest. "Wow . . . I should be the one trembling instead of you. Don't be such a weenie!"

His cheeks instantly turned red. "W-Weenie is cute to some women!"

"Some women." She rolled her eyes. "First, let's try heading downstairs. That okay with you?"

"I'm just here tailin' you." He surrendered his hands in the air.

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5:24 p.m.

Yves nearly teared up as he roamed around the whole 34th floor until the last floor. His joints were giving up. They couldn't be seen at all so he had to descend again along with his partner.

"Yo, Jared . . . Can we rest for a bit?" Panting, he collapsed on the red carpet to steady his breathing. "All this walking is killing me!"

"Okay, but after five minutes. We can't bear to lose time." Jared leaned his back on the wall and lifted the hem of his shirt, creating some wind for himself. "This hotel is like a maze!"

"This is just the first game and I'm tired already. I thought this would be easy." Yves frowned. "I'm not the sporty type."

As if the world had stopped spinning, Jared fell silent on his place. A particular scene at the lobby - before the sleeping gas had totally knocked him out - popped in his mind. "Hold on a second. I think I almost saw the game master."

"You sure, man?"

"Not a hundred percent. I failed to see his or her face because . . . I began hallucinating back there." Jared clicked his tongue once along with a brief shake of his head. "Ah, crap. I couldn't remember anything after that."

Another frown crossed over Yves' face. They could have gotten a lead about the real identity of the game master, but he or she appeared to be clever. It seemed as though that he or she was avoiding to be identified in the first game. That was reasonable, but how about the way they were involved in this unpleasant situation?

"No pressure, man." Yves gathered his feet, stood up and patted his friend's shoulder. "We'll soon find out."

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5:54 p.m.

"What's our floor number again?"

"14th floor, Judy." Olwen sighed. Her friend had been asking the same question over and over again and this was the third time.

"The restaurant is like downstairs!" Judy drooped her shoulders and whined like a four-year-old. She stomped her feet every time they climbed up a step. "Why do we have to go up?"

"Because . . . there is a possibility that we could run into them if they are on the upper levels. Therefore, they will attempt to head down and—Oh . . . speak of the devil."

The moment they stood on a new floor level, she pointed to her left when two familiar silhouettes appeared in the distance.

Judy shifted her eyes towards that direction. To her relief, it was Kacey and Klein. They seemed to be bickering over something trivial.

She cupped her mouth and hollered, "Hey! Kacey! Klein! Over here!" The corners of her lips curled up into a wide grin as she waved both arms high in the air.

Kacey flinched at the sudden loud and perky voice, a voice that was very familiar to her. When she turned around, her expression lit up. "Judy! Olwen!"

She ran along with Klein to meet with the girls. After coming to a full stop in front of them, she flashed a sarcastic smile towards him. "See? Everything's fine."

Klein gnashed his teeth as he glared. "If you show my brother that kind smile, you'll piss him off."

"Good news! I'm with the nice twin brother." She faked a smile before landing her gaze on Olwen and Judy. "Have you seen the others?"

"Afraid not." Olwen shook her head. "Judy and I have not encountered anyone below the 14th floor."

"I see how it is." Kacey nodded and turned to the guy beside her. "We should head upstairs, Klein."

"You're the boss." He shrugged his shoulders.

"So, wait, what? We're not going downstairs?" Judy pouted. "But the restaurant is downstairs—"

"I bet you're just hungry." Kacey narrowed her eyes at her with her voice going sharp. "Stop pigging out! It won't ever make you taller than me."

Judy gasped. Although she wasn't offended, she still bantered with her. "I'm not pigging out and I'm not a shorty! Y-You're just . . . taller! Don't be so mean and nasty to me!"

Kacey playfully smirked. "I never said you were a shorty."

"You didn't?" Judy blinked. She stood there looking confused about what her friend had said. Was it the opposite? She dug deeper about what she actually meant in her brain until she had it all figured out—or so she thought. "Aw! You're worried about me getting fat!" Grinning, she skipped towards Kacey and threw her arms around her for a warm hug. "Thank you for looking out for me!"

"H-Hey!" Kacey went red from head to toe. She tried to push Judy away from her body but she was stuck to her like a super glue. "That's not what I meant! Get off me, you cotton candy! We have to find the rest!"

"Oh dear . . ." Olwen massaged her temples while Klein gawked at them. "Pardon me for their strange relationship."

"I ain't complaining . . ." Klein shook his head.

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6:16 p.m.

Who would do this kind of prank to us? Is this even a real game? Calm down and think. Faith lightly patted her cheeks as she walked down the corridor. She took a deep breath before letting out a short sigh.

If something bad were to happen, her father would have gone all out searching for them. The idea of possibly getting kidnapped could be very frightening, but at a time like this, she should be brave but in secret to prevent the game master from initially targeting her. Concealing her own self-assurance and acting all meek should do the trick.

But why would she do that?

"Hans? We're on the 37th floor, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded his head.

Both of them fell silent.

Hans led the way while Faith acted by mildly trembling with her eyes rooted on the floor. As small steps were executed, a strange aura could be sensed from him. The flow of energy appeared to be calm like the sea but it threatened to create a huge whirlpool, just waiting for the right time. Was it just her? Or her nerves must be playing games with her?

Maybe I'm overthinking about this—

Suddenly, a black rat scurried under her feet.

The echoes of her piercing scream rang in Hans' ears. He turned around and immediately broke into a run. "Faith! What happened?" Frowning, he knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her back.

Faith had been sitting on the floor, wincing and rubbing her aching butt for 5 seconds. Damn, that was unexpected! But that surely strengthened her acting skills. She should thank that pesky rat for being extra.

"T-There was a rat! I hate this scary game . . ." Fake tears rolled down her cheeks and she wiped it with her hands. "I did not ask for this!"

"Hey, don't cry." Leaning forward, he circled his arms around her shoulders to comfort her. "I'll have a word with the people behind this."

"What are you planning to tell them?"

"To let us leave the hotel when we feel sick of staying. I don't think that they will hold it against us. It's only fair."

Would he really do that? For a timid guy, he was quite thoughtful and vocal if he wanted to be. Did she worry about him for nothing?

"T-Thank you." She gave him a faint smile.

Parting away, he turned to his side and protruded his right arm. "Go ahead. It'll lessen your fear."

When he flashed a gentle smile, Faith held back a squeal. Man of few words and a gentleman. How lucky was she to be paired up with him? As soon as she clung on his arm, the heat crept up to her cheeks and her heart started to flutter, but she quickly shook the feeling off. Now was not the right time to be fawning over him. Besides, she had been eyeing someone already.

"I'm really sorry and thank you again. You're sweet."

"Nah. It's a small gesture." He briefly chuckled.

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6:52 p.m.

Finally, after long hours of trudging here and there, everyone met on the 31st floor but two people were still missing.

"Where's Hans and Faith?" Theo repeatedly sighed and tapped his foot on the floor.

"I hope nothing happened to them." Maxine pursed her lips. "What if he molested Faith?"

"Maxine!" Olwen scowled. "Do not say things like that!"

Judy cackled and clapped like a seal. "I'm sure Hans is taking care of her! Or maybe they secretly eloped-"

"Hey!" Kacey swung her hand and lightly smacked her head. "Can you not? Be sensitive!" she whispered, eyeing Theo whose eyebrows were heavily furrowed.

"Oh . . . Someone's jelly." Judy quietly giggled.

"Wherever they may be, I'm sure that he's with her." Daren folded his arms across his chest. "He's a good guy."

Jared grinned and gestured an OK sign. "Caring guy. There's no need to worry about them-"

"Hey, guys!" Faith's voice suddenly resonated down the corridor.

"And finally, they're here." Meg huffed out some air and flipped her red hair back. "We could finally eat dinner."

Faith ran towards Theo like she hadn't seen him for years. His lips instantly flung wide and he spread his arms to the side, trapping her into a warm embrace. "What took you so long? I was beginning to worry."

"Sorry about that." She pulled an arm's length away, drawing a lopsided smile. "Hans took care of me. He's nice."

The bright expression on Theo's face vanished. He shifted his gaze towards Hans and both of them exchanged meaningful nods. Nothing else followed.

"Hans? Which floor level did you two find yourselves in?" Daren glanced at him.

"37th floor." He inserted his hands inside his pockets.

"What? We didn't see you guys!" Yves swung his arms up and brought it back down. "We went up to the last floor."

"Really?" Hans blinked and stared at his friend. Did he hear that right? How was it possible that they were unable to cross paths with them?

Olwen coughed to clear her throat. "Yves, the hotel is quite big and the blueprint seems to be unique. There is a chance that we would not be able to see them on the same floor. We were roaming around, too."

They all nodded in agreement.

"I hate to burst all your bubbles but . . . where's dinner?" In a hungry tone, Klein rubbed his empty stomach with his mouth ajar.

They were about to give their remarks on it when a deafening screech greeted their ears.

Everyone jolted, cringed and covered their ears. Who operated the speaker box? Either a male or a female should speak through the microphone, however, it was entirely different. Distortion followed and the voice behind it sounded harsh and low. The pitch was altered into a more sinister and unrecognizable way.

"Well done! Without further ado, proceed to the 13th floor to have your awaited dinner. Please, use the elevator. It is safe to use."

Their long stares at each other implied hesitation. Who would trust that creepy person behind the microphone? But if they didn't make any decision, nothing would happen. As they all sauntered down the corridor to find the elevator, they only had one question and answer in mind:

What was the game for?

To know your way around the hotel . . .

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"The fun is about to start."

-KILLER

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