The Golden Hotel

In Room 24,457, Jared, Hans, Klein and Yves spent a few minutes waiting for Daren to sober up inside his room. Their friend stayed on the carpeted floor all curled up like an abandoned dog under the rain, refusing to look at anyone in the eye. His crushed spirit was so contagious, it pushed them to talk to Hans. He was the type of friend who was good at keeping their squad's bond intact and he had been doing that since the beginning.

Huffing out some air, Hans went to Daren and crouched down beside him. His friend had been staring, staring blankly into space. The shine on his eyes had faded and his deathly pale face made it seem like a Grim Reaper had decided to take his soul, s.u.c.k.i.n.g every fiber of his being. Anyone would have the same reaction if a loved one unexpectedly departed from this world. In his case, their current predicament became an addition to his emotional toll.

"Ren, everyone's gathered in the living room." Hans kept his voice soft and low, taking it slow. "I need you to be okay. We need you out there as our leader. Not just us . . . but Olwen has to have someone taking the final call, deciding for the whole group."

Daren didn't bother to answer. He turned his back on him and stared at the other wall. It might seem that he had plugged his ears with two corks to block his friend's words from changing his mind, but he was intently listening and battling his own thoughts. A little push would activate the volcano.

"About what happened to Meg--" Hans pursed his lips to prevent himself from adding more fuel to the fire. It wasn't a good idea to bring her up, and he almost tripped the time bomb. "Look, I get it that you're devastated, we all are and will be, but we shouldn't allow the killer to break us up like this. Do you understand? Nobody wanted this. All we have to do is stick together and stay strong--"

"Do you hear yourself?" Daren spoke through gritted teeth. Looking over his shoulder, he sat up and narrowed his eyes at him. "The killer already got what he or she wanted. I don't know what to think anymore. Do I have to pretend that I'm okay? Do I have to pretend that everything's gonna be fine? Do we have to keep pretending that there are good people in here? The killer's one of us!" His thunderous voice filled the room. Then he rose from the floor and kept jabbing his finger at their faces. "I don't trust any of you after what happened to Meg! Meg . . . She--"

Stumbling a bit sideways, Daren's lips quivered as his eyes brimmed with tears. Everybody fell silent. He repeatedly shook his head before facing the other way, hiding his pathetic self. If one of them was really the killer, he'd be the first one to drive a knife through his or her heart.

"Leave me alone . . . Please."

Hans sighed for the last time. Looking at his friends, he shook his head and got up. "Give him some space. He'll come around."

Jared, Yves and Klein threw each other that unsure look. What could they do? It was all what their friend needed the most and they were hanging on to that belief that he would stay rational throughout their stay in the hotel. If one of them caved in, all hell would break loose.

One by one, they went out of the room and Hans closed the door.

"Hey? What's going on in there?" Faith appeared in front of them, giving the boys a quizzical look. "We heard Daren yelling. Is he okay?"

"No." Jared hunched his shoulders. "He needs some time alone before he comes back to us."

"And the worst-case scenario is . . . ?"

"He ain't gonna trust anyone," Klein answered. "We should let him cool down for a while. Better off that way than tryin' to bug him again."

"Well, c'mon. There's no point in mopping around." Yves strode past them, implying that they should get moving. "We've got some important things to talk about, yeah?"

Faith nodded, and they all gathered around the living to where everyone had been waiting for them.

When they showed up, Olwen scanned their faces, expecting Daren to be with them but she got disappointed. "He's not going to join us?"

"No, and that is why I'm the substitute second leader." Faith sat in between Theo and Maxine. She picked up her notepad and pen on top of the coffee table before giving the other group a long gaze. "Is that okay with you guys?"

"Not at all." Hans voiced out for everyone after seeing their face of approval. "We're not cut out with the whole leader thing. Besides, you're a smart lady. You fit the role." He gently smiled.

The corner of Theo's lips twitched when Faith slightly blushed at his rival's smooth comment. He couldn't bear the sight of him fl.i.c.k.i.n.g his obnoxious charm towards her even for a millisecond. To break their eye contact, he nudged her elbow, and she got pulled back to reality.

"A-Alrighty then! We should start with listing down our riddle's answer." Faith clicked the button of her pen and pointed at Yves. As usual, he was leaning on the wall with his arms folded in front of his c.h.e.s.t. "You start."

"Letter E."

"Iron Ore," Olwen followed.

"Fire," Theo said.

"Bamboo," Hans said.

"17,000," Maxine said.

"300 and 206." Jared frowned.

"Key," Klein said.

"Bookkeeper," Kacey said.

"Heart." Faith inked down her answer. "We'll ask Daren about his riddle some other time when he feels better."

"All right." Olwen sat properly and looked at them. "Voice out your ideas."

"What if our answers has got something to do with the way how we die?" Maxine began. "Not just how we die, think about the affected body part. If what I think is true, I don't wanna go blind."

Jared, who was sitting beside her on the couch, grimaced. He had just finished bandaging her wounded elbow with the available first aid kit in their suite. "Mine's a lot worse. I'll be dead before I can see my snapped bones sticking out of my legs and arms."

"Blehck!" Kacey, who was seated on the floor right next to Klein, badly cringed, showing her perfectly straight teeth. A strong feeling of disgust overwhelmed her upon imagining that kind of scenario happening to him. "How gruesome can you get?"

"I've seen a lot of blood and bones. That's a doctor for you. Other than that, my riddle--I mean, my fact has been bothering me for sometime now."

"And why is that?" Klein c.o.c.ked his head to the side.

"The killer specifically gave me a fact about our bones." Jared made eye contact with everyone while Maxine suddenly held her bandaged elbow. "Nobody would be able to guess that other than me."

"So are you saying that the killer is in your group?" Faith kept writing on her notepad, thoroughly analyzing everyone's idea which could lead them to the real killer.

"N-No. What I'm trying to say is, the killer might have done some extensive research about us if we all think that no one here is a murderer."

Klein gulped down his saliva. If the killer was one of his friends, the thought of sleeping tonight and having his throat slashed in secret was a horrendous experience. "I'd . . . rather believe what you've said. I don't wanna blame everyone here."

"Who's the crazy son of a bitch then?" Yves pounded the wall right next to him. His eyes were filled with fury. "Why harm innocent people like us? We sure as hell did not deserve this!"

"Aren't you a cop?" Hans calmly pointed out to avoid poking his nerve. "Maybe, just maybe, you must have previously put the 'serial' killer behind bars?"

"And what?" Yves drew a sardonic smirk, ridiculing the idea. "Grew a grudge towards me? That's bullshit, Hans! I'm always with my buddies. Why just me?"

"Maybe it's not you." Olwen twiddled with her trembling fingers. She had been thinking of her own background while everyone else was having a heated discussion. "Maybe . . . it's all because of me. I've handled high-profile cases and sent quite a number of suspects into jail. A couple of them were murderers."

Kacey gasped. "You're absolutely right about that one. I've heard news regarding about lawyers getting ambushed or assassinated these days. Do you think that's the reason for all of this?"

"Kay, let's not have Olwen blaming herself on this one." Theo's voice was low and full. "We can't be too sure about it. Killers are manipulative and they're very good at it."

"But she may be right, Theo." Olwen picked up the hot cup of coffee on the table. She didn't took a sip on it, but rather stared at the caramel surface and let her cold hands warm up. "We can't allow a potential clue to slip past under our noses. If so, I'm afraid . . . I'd be of no help. There are too many cases to count."

"Okay. Let's hold that thought and go back to our previous idea." Kacey brought her knees up to her c.h.e.s.t and tucked her blond hair behind her ears. "Who among you got electrocuted?"

Maxine and Hans raised their hand, and all eyes landed on them.

"Mine wasn't a riddle," she said. "It's a fact like Jared's."

"I just couldn't answer mine," he said.

"Then that means, the current victim's answer is in question here." Kacey looked at the boys whom she had prompted to enter Meg's cabin. "Did any of you see her answer on the screen?"

Jared, Hans, Klein and Yves stole glances at each other. Only one of them had gotten closer to Meg's corpse, Daren and the podium during that time.

"Ah, that would be me." Hans scratched the back of his right ear before briefly raising his hand. "The screen was blinking her answer, and it was electricity. But there--"

"Hey." Theo leaned forward with his full attention on Kacey, unintentionally cutting off Hans. He just imagined himself screaming and flailing around to put out the flames toasting his entire body. "Am I gonna get done in by fire?"

"Yup." Kacey pressed her back against the couch. "If that is what he or she wants us to know, then the answers we have could be our death method."

Meanwhile, Faith had been keeping silent for the whole 15 minutes of their group's discussion. Something about their exchange of dialogues got her heart pumping irregularly, affecting her concentration. What if it was her fault? What if she got them into this situation? The words she had written on the notepad began trailing off. Her hands were subtly shaking as her brain was exerting more effort into thinking, thinking of her mom, dad and their family's history. Those thoughts constantly played in her head, torturing and suffocating her.

Her c.h.e.s.t got tight.

"Pardon me for interrupting," Hans cleared his throat with his stiff gaze on Theo, "but I wasn't done with my explanation. The screen was blinking Meg's answer and the killer's message."

Theo threw daggers with his eyes but he cut off their link, looking the other way.

"A message?" Olwen reiterated, and the rest closely listened to what he was going to say.

"The killer said, 'Ha ha ha. Goodbye, bitch.'"

Cautiously, everyone but Faith glanced at Yves who in return looked at them in disbelief.

"What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

"Because you have a filthy mouth," Jared flatly remarked. "Don't deny it, Yves."

"You f.u.c.k.i.n.g kidding me?" His neck ached with tension. Their lowered gazes and unnatural stillness made him click his tongue. "You guys really think I'm the killer? Even you, li'l brother?" He leered at him.

"What? No!" Klein rapidly shook his head. Hearing his twin address him as the little brother, even though they were only born a few hours apart, made his limbs tremble. "We didn't say anything like that--"

"Shut the hell up!" He pushed himself off the wall and came closer to the group. "Do you think I'm dumb? Just because I have a detestable attitude, all evidence suddenly boomerangs to me?"

"Hey!" Kacey sprung up from the floor, seemingly ready to charge towards him like a bull. She disliked how his temper was erupting again. "Pipe down, will you? You're acting like a douchebag!"

"I wouldn't be if you guys had a better reaction!"

"We wouldn't be arguing about this right now if you hadn't jumped to conclusion first--"

"Shut up!" Faith suddenly exploded, slapping her notepad on the coffee table, and the yelling stop. "Can we all settle down? We're not gonna get anywhere if all we do is fight each other! It's not that hard to act professional!"

Yves and Kacey quietly apologized before returning to their places. They, excluding Theo, didn't expect that kind of reaction from her. Faith's fiery gaze and upside down smile just destroyed their sweet image of her, so they kept their mouth shut to avoid infuriating her. Something about her was very different, but they couldn't pinpoint it.

"Let's take a break." She rubbed her temples. "I'm a bit thirsty."

Hastily, she stood up and excused herself from the group, not minding how their eyes were nailed on her back. Theo tried to get her attention, but her bladder felt like opening the longer she sat there. She had to leave. Their negative energy was too much to absorb especially when she was beginning to blame herself for this irreversible problem. Moving away from them even for just a moment made her insides jolt with happiness.

As soon as she entered the kitchenette, her pent-up stress gradually melted away. Their voices weren't audible in this area, so that helped with toning down the what if thoughts playing in her head. She could have shared her idea about the killer's reason for murdering them but it was still too early to say. But why wait? Of course. They might attempt to take her life for being the cause of their misery. Her parents had always reminded her to stay on low profile no matter how dire the situation was. But how could she stay quiet if she was appointed as the second leader?

Their lives were more important.

Blowing out some air, she went for the water dispenser and grabbed the empty glass on the drying rack, filling it in with cold water. She had planned on bringing it with her but when she turned around . . .

Someone strangled her.

Faith choked and gagged, causing her to let go of her drinking glass and it shattered on the floor, spilling the water. She automatically tried to pry his hands away, but the more she struggled, the more he added pressure around her neck. Tears welled up at the corner of her eyes when she couldn't breathe. How she wished for someone to quickly land a punch across her attacker's face, but her vision was already failing. Any second now, it could be the end of her life.

Little by little, her grip was starting to loosen up. Faith thought that she was going to die when finally, someone came to her rescue.

"Get off her!"