The Golden Hotel

Maxine fell down on her b.u.t.t with her left hand tightly clutching her wrist. She was hyperventilating, staring down on her prickling hand. A long, sharp needle the size of a BBQ stick had skewered her flesh like it was some kind of tender meat, ready to be grilled and eaten. But the dark sauce coating her hand was her own blood, dripping, staining the carpet.

"Maxine!" Jared ran to her, dropped on his knees, and helped her lean her back on the wall—away from the c.h.e.s.t drawer while the other two worried behind them. Then he held her bleeding hand and said, "I'm gonna be honest. This will hurt. Can you handle it?"

She nodded quickly and averted her eyes, hiding the pain in them. "This is nothing compared to being electrocuted. I was just . . . surprised."

Maxine often carried herself as a strong and independent woman in front of everyone, and Jared only needed a second to see through her. Despite being difficult at times, she was just a kind and soft person not ever wanting her friends to be tied up in tough situations. She would wind up volunteering herself to boost their morale, protect them from harm, and to look out for them. To name a few, she had braved the backyard forest alone for everyone, tagged along with Yves to investigate the hole in the 24th floor, cared for her friends when they got hurt, wrestled with an American Black Bear, and threatened to punch the killer. This time, she got herself injured for her selfless act. It was only right for someone to take care of her, and he was going to do it.

"You don't have to keep the burden all to yourself. We share your pain, and it's okay to be weak." He held the needle including her trembling hand. "Go right ahead and scream in my face if you have to. Punch me after I get this out of you. Ready?"

Seeing her nod and shut her eyes closed, Jared removed the needle in one swift movement. She screamed and held her wrist at the same time, enduring the needle-like sensation pulsing in her wound. Maxine felt like her flesh had been ripped off her bones, and it was no joke. Through clenched teeth, she said:

"That really hurt!"

"There's no other way." He threw the needle to the floor and pulled out a spare bandage roll from his jean's pocket, wrapping it around her bleeding hand. "Would you rather have me pull it out slowly? I could do it again—"

Without warning, she swung a rock-solid punch towards his right t.h.i.g.h, and he screamed in pain. He never thought her hand could weigh like a two-pound dumbbell. Doctors like him usually have lightweight hands.

He frowned and said, "That was too hard! Are you an amazon what?"

"You told me to punch you! Why are you complaining?"

"You could have made it less pain—"

Jared bit back his tongue. She had wrapped her arms around his neck for a tight embrace and whispered her thanks, which tensed his muscles from head to toe. Theo and Faith got thrown off especially Jared. Someone like her wouldn't dare go all mushy, but today was an exception. So he smiled and gave her a pat on her head, understanding the meaning behind her actions.

Faith and Theo sighed with relief. Seeing their friend doing fine after that surprise attack, they could rest easy, but not fully.

"What are we gonna do now? Somebody has to open the rest of them." Theo hopelessly looked at the c.h.e.s.t drawer. "Any ideas on how to avoid hosting a barbecue party tonight? Can't imagine who got hit at the other team."

Faith stared at the needle on the floor, trying to come up with the best solution to avoid everyone from getting hurt. She couldn't possibly assume the needle would shoot out of the same hole considering the fact that the c.h.e.s.t drawer could be another one of those customized weapons. There should be an easy way to solve the problem. Glancing back to examine the c.h.e.s.t drawer, her eyes were suddenly drawn to the ring handles.

She had a brilliant idea.

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"The needle," Daren told Hans, picking it up on the floor. His friend's blood stained his hand but he paid no mind. "We can use it to open the drawers."

"You're right! I'm sure Faith will do the same."

Daren's lips curved down upon seeing Hans's shameless wide smile. He wanted to ask about his relationship with Faith, but he dismissed the thought and said, "No doubt about it. I bet there's going to be another one. We should start opening the next drawer with this one, and then you can use the other needle when it spits out of that." He pointed at the upper right drawer.

"You fellas do that while I get used to this f.u.c.k.i.n.g wound. I feel like Jesus paying for our sins." Yves was on the floor, tying his bleeding right hand with a bandage. Jared had given it to him in advance just in case of emergency, and that was now.

"At least you only got nailed in one hand." Klein tried to comfort his older brother, but he was glared at, shutting him up.

Hans stood on the left side of the opened drawer, inspecting it. Squinting his eyes to focus on one spot, he closely looked at the middle of the brass backplate. There was a tiny hole below it. Nobody would have seen it due to the black paint acting as camouflage. Then he looked inside the drawer. There was a customized shooter screwed against the front part with a string was attached to it, going around, connecting to the trigger. It was designed like a crossbow and its appearance was indeed similar to one, but with increased shooting power. Pulling the drawer and letting go of the ring handle would release the steel arrow.

"See anything suspicious?" Daren walked over to the right side of the c.h.e.s.t drawer.

"There's a shooting weapon attached here, like a crossbow." Hans pointed at the backplate. "The hole . . . is right below the handle. You should be able to see it if you look closely."

"No kidding." Daren carefully scrutinized his drawers despite the insufficient light. The backplates were missing a hole. "This one's different. I don't see anything."

"I guess this is another weaponized furniture."

"I've got a feeling our situation's unavoidable in the first place. One of us will have to suffer, and Yves happened to be the first example."

"Because of that, we knew what to do next." Hans closed the drawer before looking at the twins standing right behind them. "You two better move out of the way. Another arrow's gonna shoot out of this"—he turned to Daren, telling him to get ready through his eyes—"but I hope not."

"Here goes nothing." Daren sat on his heels while the twins wordlessly moved to the corner. With trembling fingers, he inserted the needle through the upper right drawer's ring handle, making sure his hand was out of harm's way

After a second or two, he opened the drawer. A silver object zipped past his eyes, causing him to flinch along with Hans. He snapped his head around to see where it went and the silver needle was just there, sticking out of the opposite wall. Only then he realized the thundering in his ears. Something about the needles troubled him, but he couldn't seem to pinpoint the exact reason. Maybe the game was just making him anxious, and that was absolutely normal.

"Holy crepe. . . ." Klein broke out sweating all over his body. "That's one heck of a crossbow."

"Glad we didn't encounter a porcupine robot of some sort. We'd be dancing on our feet, avoiding flying needles," Yves said, shuddering. "Those are pretty sharp."

"And deadly," Klein added. "I just hope no one got hurt at the other team."

"We could only hope for the best." Hans got up on his feet and went for the needle, taking it from the wall. Then he returned to his position, collapsing on his knees. "Two down. Two to go. You ready for another round, Ren?"

Daren dismissed his thoughts and nodded, putting his needle through the last ring handle. After Hans did the same to his drawer, they opened them together and got the expected result. Two needles darted out of different holes and punctured the opposite wall. Of course, their efforts were not in vain. They found two flashlights in each drawer.

"We hit the jackpot." Daren took them out and handed them over to the twins. "Seems like we'll be walking through the dark."

"So where's the note?" Klein asked.

"Right here." Hans held it up in the air as he gave Daren a flashlight.

Klein, Yves, and Daren switched on their flashlights and gathered around him. Hans shone the light over the note, revealing typed written letters in red ink:

Well done!

Your team have successfully found this note.

Here is the next instruction:

Go to the 10th floor as a team via the stairs.

Whoever is holding this note has to stay behind on that floor.

Do not cheat!

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Nobody knew for how many minutes they had wasted on scaring themselves while roaming around the dark corridors with their trusted flashlights, but Faith and her teammates had safely reached the elevators on the 10th floor without sustaining another injury.

They stopped for a moment to catch their breaths and get a full grasp of their whole situation. There were four elevators, but two of them on the right side were covered with bright yellow plastic tapes. The words DANGER were in prominent lettering. They could either be broken or down for the meantime, which led them to look at the remaining two on the left side. Judging by the white paper posted on the wall—in between the elevators—they were in for another riddle:

Answer this riddle:

"I am soft and flexible. I come in all shapes and sizes. I need you to change my appearance, but too much of you will break me. What am I?"

After guessing the right answer, find the item in the riddle to know the next instruction.

Good luck!

Theo read the riddle again. "Is it a . . . cigarette?"

Faith eyed the digital keypad mounted on the left side of their elevator. She counted the blank spaces on the tiny screen and said, "Nine letters." She punched in the letters to see. There was a long, steady beep, but the word disappeared. "No luck. It's not the right answer."

Theo tried pressing the elevator's up button, repeatedly, but it wasn't working.

"I'm thinking of a glassmith, but it's obviously not the answer." Maxine crossed her arms. "Any more guesses?"

"Er . . . bubblegum?" Jared said, and they agreed.

Faith punched in the letters. They waited as the digital keypad gave another steady beep. With a pleasant ding coming from their elevator, the doors parted open, and she proudly smiled for him.

"The doctor earns a point." She took a peek inside and dragged her eyes in every corner. There were no suspicious objects lying around, so she looked up. The bright lights were perfectly working, but how about outside? "Looks safe in here, but still, you guys need to be careful."

"No, you need to be careful." Theo gently grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, meeting her gaze. "We don't know what the killer's planning to accomplish this time. Separating us like this . . ."

"Theo, don't worry yourself too much." She frowned. "I've been through hell. I can handle more of it."

"Don't wish for more." He hardened his expression. "What if you can't get yourself out of trouble and you need me?"

"I'm positive that you'll be there to help me when I'm in mortal danger."

"Oh, yeah? How many times were you saved by that guy?"

"That guy? Are you talking about Hans?"

"You already answered your own question."

Her blood ran cold.

Faith closely studied his face to get a read on her boyfriend. That irritated look and downturned lips sent mixed signals. Admittedly, she got scared of his acting. Yes, she was positively sure that he was putting on a show, right? She should not be caught in her own trap. Just thinking of how she nearly fell for it got her cheeks burning red, which could be seen by others as her getting angry.

"Listen," she began, lowering her voice, "I am fed up with you controlling me. Could you please stop it? Right now? We're done!"

"Done? Is this how it goes?"

"Do I have to repeat myself for you to understand me? I'm just done with your over the top jealousy."

"Over the top?" He scoffed, smirking right after. "Just tell it straight in my face that you don't trust me anymore."

"Fine!" Refusing to back down, she threw her arms in the air and spoke louder, "You wanna hear it so badly? I can do that! I don't trust you anymore."

"Wow." He combed his hair back with both hands. "Now you're so confident?"

"And why not?"

"Have you forgotten? Don't forget to tell everyone here"—he angrily pointed at Maxine and Jared who were helplessly watching them—"how you cheated on me! And when the other team gets here, tell everyone you only chose me out of pity, you two-faced whore—"

Faith got so caught in the moment she burst into tears. She slapped him hard, causing him to turn the other cheek. Even though his words were meant to help her shed a tear, her heart shriveled like a plant lacking in sunlight. She was not stupid. She could read between the lines. Half of his words were false, and half of it was the truth.

"I'm leaving you. . . ." Faith choked in her bitter tears.

Maxine and Jared thought nobody witnessed the couple's sudden breakup, but they were wrong. The other team had arrived. They were standing close to their elevator, shocked faces on display. Hans, in particular, was holding in his erupting anger.

Glancing at the other team, Maxine grabbed Theo's arm. He seemed to have shut down momentarily by the looks of his zombie-fied state. His eyes just ran out of sparkles, so she pulled him inside the elevator to keep him away from everyone . . . and Faith.

"We'll . . . go ahead," Jared told her, with a heavy sigh.

When he got inside the elevator, Daren, Yves, and Klein swapped worried glances. They communicated through their eyes, asking each other who would call the next shot. Hans's attention was fully on her and it only felt right to let him do as he pleased. Even though the twins quietly disagreed, acting or not, she needed a shoulder to cry on.

Yves took the lead. He stepped closer to Hans and said, "Go. We'll take it from here."

Making sure that he could be exempted from solving the riddle, Hans stared at Yves for a long time. The cop felt uncomfortable and bothered, bothered that his eyes were convincingly sad. He nodded to him, and he took off like a man who had been forbidden from seeing his lover for thousands of years. From there, he watched the two sharing a tight embrace. It made him think twice.

Was he really the killer?