فصل 16

A Night in Terror Tower - Chapter 16

I jumped up. The napkin fell off my lap, onto my shoe. I kicked it away and reached down to tug Eddie’s arm. “Come on—let’s get out of here.” Eddie gazed up at me uncertainly, then back at the taxi driver. The taxi driver had stopped just past the entrance. His eyes were searching each table.

“Hurry,” I whispered. “He hasn’t seen us yet.”

“But maybe we should just explain to him—” Eddie said.

“Huh? Explain what?” I shot back. “That we can’t pay him because we lost our memory and don’t know our name? I really don’t think he’ll buy that—do you?” Eddie twisted his face in a frown. “Okay. How do we get out of here?” he demanded.

The front door was blocked by the taxi driver. But I spotted a glass door on the back wall near our table.

The door had a filmy, white curtain over it and a small sign that read: NO EXIT.

But I didn’t care. Eddie and I had no choice. We had to leave—fast!

I grabbed the knob and pulled the door open. Eddie and I slipped through, then tugged the door shut behind us.

“I don’t think he saw us,” I whispered. “I think we’re okay.”

We turned away from the door and found ourselves in a long, dark hallway. This must be an area used by the hotel workers, I thought. The floor had no carpet. The walls were dirty, stained, and unpainted.

We turned a corner. I held out a hand to stop Eddie.

We listened hard for footsteps. Had the taxi driver seen us duck out? Was he coming after us?

I couldn’t hear a thing over the pounding of my heart. “What a horrible day!” I wailed.

And then the day turned even more horrible.

The man in the black cape stepped out from around the corner. “Did you really think I wouldn’t follow you?” he asked. “Did you really think you could escape from me?”