They were right.
One cannot escape death.
Though I have tried for years now in methodical obsession, I cannot escape death.
DEATH IS COMING, DEATH IS COMING.
On the front of the post card was simply the picture of a Hotel saying "Welcome to Doom Country."
Doom -
–noun 1. f47e or destiny, esp. adverse fate; unavoidable i11 fortune.
2. ru1n; d3ath.
3. a judgment, decision, or sentence, esp. an unfavorable one.
4. the L457 Judgm3nt, at the end of the world.
We showed up to the abandoned hotel on a chilly desert evening, not exactly sure where we were. Recognizing only the blood-red glow of the HOTEL sign, the no vacancy sign completely missing. Hinting that both something and nothing would be found. My guess would have been that we tripped into another world and this was the gate to hell but that seems very much a standard thing. What we found there was much worse.
We pulled the rickety van into the empty parking lot and realized that the power had been cut off at some unseen breaker. All except for one room and the ominous light.
Tyler and Christopher went toward the lobby to investigate out front, while Brad and I would look around in the hotel room and figure this out quickly and hopefully be back on the road before we were noticed by something foul or less-than-human.
Brad stood behind me as I peered in the window. The stench of rot lurked through the broken glass. "Feels like home, huh." I said quietly. "More than I care to think about." Brad quipped. "What should we do?" I asked, hoping that Brad would get the idea. Returning to the van was a nice thought, we'd tell Tyler and Chris that nothing was to be found and get to a gas station, wash our faces and be done with this place for the night. "Well, you go inside." He said quietly. I didn't like it at all. "Me? What happened to the old team spirit?" I knew the answer before I asked. "I've already been dead once, jerk."
Which he had. It was hard for me to believe that I was investigating death with someone that had recently been dead. As a matter of fact, before a week ago, I wouldn't have believed any of it. This would have been a bad dream.
Unfortunately, it was not.
