The Hotel of Darkness - Part 3

danwolfgang (40)in #fiction • 7 years ago (edited)

As they ran through the darkness, Joseph continued to hear a cranky metallic sound echoing through the halls. Finally, he stopped to listen. There was a lurch as Silver stopped as well, which caused Joseph to raise an eyebrow.

“What’ve you got there, Silver?” He bent down to the wolf and saw the lamp from their room hanging in his mouth by a wire. Small drops of oil fell from the metal bowl to the wooden floor. “How much oil did you spill getting this out of our room?”

Silver set the lamp down. “Not much. I think it was already half full when we got there.”

“If you say so.” He frowned and stood back up. “Well, hopefully we’ll find more oil when we find a way to light it.”

Silver picked it back up, and they continued down the hallway. Joseph eventually started trying to open doors again, but he didn’t find any unlocked. Soon, the doors were replaced with bare wall, and he gave up searching.

Not long after, they came to set of stairs leading downward and descended them, coming out into a large room. It was just as dark as the rest of the hotel had been, with no windows to provide any light. They went through it, Joseph keeping a careful eye out for anything. Then something bumped into his waist.

Joseph looked down to see a small wooden table covered by a plain tablecloth, decorated with a couple unlit candles and two sets of dishes. The silverware lay haphazard across the plates, all of which were covered in an unknown greasy substance. They stepped around the table and as they continued on, Joseph held his hands out before him.

He kept along the wall and managed to avoid hitting anything else until a counter appeared. He tried peering over it, but met only darkness. Keeping a hand along it, he walked around the counter until he found an opening and went inside. He felt through the cabinets under the counter until a small box found its way into his grasp.

Joseph pulled out the box and stared at it. Inside were several small pieces of wood, and when he held one in his hand, he realized that they were matches. Quickly, he struck one along the floor. A bright spark formed on the tip, and a flame ignited, illuminating the close surroundings.

“Bring me the lamp, Silver!”

Silver set it down beside him, and Joseph lit it, watching the flame inside grow bright. Then he blew out the match and threw it away. He searched through the cupboards under the counter again, but found nothing else which would aid him.

With the new light to see, they looked around at the dining room. As they walked through the room, Joseph noticed a black char mark near the far wall. He realized with a gasp that they were in the same room which Dula was summoned. They had traveled in a circle.

He placed the lamp wire back in Silver’s mouth and grabbed the hilt of his sword. The two searched for any sign of Dula, walking very quietly. There was another hallway which they traveled down. The first door along this hallway was unlocked, but only contained a closet without anything more than a few brooms. From then on the rest of the doors were locked.

Further down the hall, they spotted a picture hanging on the wall. Joseph didn’t remember seeing any other portraits, but he couldn’t be sure since they didn't have the lamp then. The painting was of a demon stabbing a woman with a pitchfork as a look of horror passed over her face. Broad brush strokes were used in the creation of the art, giving the painting a rushed look.

As he stared at the painting, he could feel himself being drawn into it. The picture seemed to grow larger and larger the longer he gazed upon it. Soon, he felt grass under his feet and a cold breeze against his face, causing him to shiver.

The demon moved its pitchfork toward the woman, who crawled away. It missed and struck the ground, so he pulled it back for another attack. She screamed.

Joseph drew his sword and ran toward them. He slashed through the demon’s pitchfork, slicing off the sharp end. Then he pulled the woman back onto her feet. Up close, she seemed much older now, almost twice Joseph’s age, and he thought that even when she was younger, she was rather plain.

The demon behind him laughed, and he turned to see a spearhead growing out of the broken weapon. It stepped toward them with the newly repaired weapon raised to strike. The woman clung to Joseph’s left arm.

As the demon brought the spear down, Joseph ran his blade though the weapon, slicing off the spearhead. The tip fell to the grass and disappeared. When Joseph looked back up, the demon's weapon had transformed into a short sword, the same length as the broken spear.

The demon advanced toward them and slashed at Joseph’s face. He blocked the attack with his own sword inches from his nose. It pushed harder against Joseph’s blade until he fell back on the ground. The woman let go of Joseph and ran away.

He tried to stand, but the demon was over him before he could get fully upright again. It raised it’s sword to pierce Joseph through the chest. It bought the sword down, but Joseph rolled out of the way. The blade cut him along the arm as it pounded into the soil. Joseph spun around and cut through the demon’s blade before he could pull it free.

The weapon transformed into a dagger as the demon held it. It rushed across the ground at Joseph. Joseph fell back and brought his legs up, kicking the demon in the stomach. It vaulted over him and fell into the bushes.

Several barks came from his side, and as he stood back up, Silver ran toward him. The bushes behind him rustled as the demon pulled itself free. Joseph ran to Silver, but when he stopped, the wolf didn’t halt. Silver leaped at Joseph, tackled him to the ground, and stood on top of him.

The grassy field and trees disappeared, replaced by the hallway. The lamp sat a few feet behind Silver, giving the room a warm orange hue, a stark contrast with the dull gray sky from the paining. Silver licked Joseph’s face a few times until he protested.

Joseph sat against the wall beside Silver. “What happened? I was transported to another world.”

“Joseph, you were only staring at that painting. You stood there for a long time, as if it had you in a trance.”

“But, I could’ve sworn the demon I was fighting cut me.” He looked down at his arm, but the wound was gone, much to his surprise.

“Demon? You mean the one in the painting?”

“Yeah! I kicked him into a bush, then you went into the painting too and saved me.”

“No, Joseph. You were just standing here in the hallway.”

Joseph stared at his arm for a moment, before standing back up. Careful to avoid looking at it, he took the painting off the wall, flipped it around, and set it down onto the floor. Then he turned back to Silver.

“Come on, let’s keep moving.”