فصل 18

A Night in Terror Tower - Chapter 18

Flickering orange light broke the darkness.

I opened my eyes. Blinked several times. Took a deep breath.

The caped man was gone.

“Eddie—are you okay?” I asked in a quivering voice.

“I—I think so,” he stammered.

I gazed down the long hall, startled to find it lit by flickering candles. A candle was perched in a holder beside each door.

“Sue, how did we get in this hallway?” Eddie asked softly. “Where is the caped man?” “I don’t know,” I replied. “I’m as confused as you are.”

We stepped into the flickering light. “This has to be the old section of the hotel,” I guessed. “They must want it to look old-fashioned.” We walked past door after door. The long, narrow hallway was silent except for the thud of our shoes on the hardwood floor. The doors were all closed. No other people in sight.

The flickering candlelight, the dark doorways, the eerie silence—all gave me a cold, tingly feeling. My entire body trembled.

We kept walking through the dim, orangey light.

“I—I want to go back to the room,” Eddie stammered as we turned another corner. “Maybe Mom and Dad have come back. Maybe they’re waiting for us up there.” “Maybe,” I replied doubtfully.

We entered another silent hallway, glowing eerily in darting, dancing candlelight. “There’s got to be an elevator down here somewhere,” I muttered.

But we passed only dark, closed doors.

Turning another corner, we nearly bumped into a group of people.

“Ohh!” I cried out, so startled to find others in these long, empty hallways.

I stared at them as they passed. They wore long robes, and their faces were hidden under dark hoods. I couldn’t tell if they were men or women.

They moved silently, making no sound at all. They paid no attention to Eddie or me.

“Uh… can you tell us where the elevator is?” Eddie called after them.

They didn’t turn back, didn’t reply.

“Sirs?” Eddie called, chasing after them. “Please! Have you seen the elevator?” One of them turned back toward Eddie. The others continued moving silently down the hallway, their long robes swishing softly.

I stepped up beside my brother and the robed figure. I could see the face under the hood. An old man with bushy white eyebrows.

He peered out at Eddie, then at me. His eyes were dark and wet. His expression was sorrowful.

“I smell evil around you,” he croaked in a dry whisper.

“What?” I cried. “My brother and I—”

“Do not leave the abbey,” the old man instructed. “I smell evil around you. Your time is near. So near. So very near…”