فصل 21

A Night in Terror Tower - Chapter 21

“Do they know us?” Eddie whispered to me.

We stared back at them. Everyone seemed to freeze in place. The man stopped turning the deer on the spit. The only sound in the huge dining hall was the crackle of the fires in the twin fireplaces.

The man in the white gown slowly lowered his hand. His face darkened to a bright scarlet as he gaped at us in amazement.

“We just want to find the way out,” I said. My voice sounded tiny and shrill.

No one moved. No one replied.

I took a deep breath and tried one more time. “Can anyone help us?” Silence.

Who are these strange people? I wondered. Why are they staring at us like that? Why won’t they answer us?

Eddie and I took a step back as they began to move toward us. Some of them were whispering excitedly, muttering to each other, gesturing with their hands.

“Eddie—we’d better get out of here!” I whispered.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying. But I didn’t like the excited expressions on their faces.

And I didn’t like the way they were moving along the wall, moving to get behind us, to surround us.

“Eddie—run!” I screamed.

Angry cries rang out as we both spun around and hurtled toward the open doorway. Dogs barked. Children started to cry.

We darted back into the dark hallway and kept running.

I could still feel the heat of the fire on my face as we ran, still smell the tangy aroma of the roasting deer.

Their excited, angry cries followed us through the long hall. Gasping for breath, I glanced back, expecting to see them chasing after us.

But the hall was empty.

We turned a corner and kept going. Candles flickered on both sides of us. The floorboards groaned under our shoes.

The eerie, dim light. The voices far behind us. The endless tunnel of a hallway. All made me feel as if I were running through a dream.

We turned another corner and kept running.

The misty candlelight blurred as I ran. I’m floating through a dark orange cloud, I thought.

Do these empty, candlelit halls ever end?

Eddie and I both cried out happily as a door appeared in front of us.

A door we had never seen before.

It has to lead to the outside! I told myself.

We raced to the door. We didn’t slow down as we reached it.

I stuck out both hands. Pushed hard.

The door flew open.

And we stepped out into bright sunlight.

Outside! We had escaped from the dark maze of the hotel corridors!

It took a few seconds for the harsh white glare to fade from my eyes.

I blinked several times. Then I gazed up and down the street.

“Oh, no!” I wailed, grabbing my brother’s arm. “No! Eddie—what has happened?”