Authors Notes: Geeez, it's been quite a while since I last uploaded a chapter huh? I apologise for the lengthy wait, writer's block is a nasty thing that tends to happen to me on a regular basis nowadays.
Anyways, here is the next part of the story...and following on from Gregory's suggestion, Shou has started on his exploration of the hotel, but what kind of things will he discover in this foreboding place?
A reality miscalculated.
Chapter Four - The bizarre room.
As he continued to walk down that desolate corridor, Shou honestly couldn't help but think about the scream that he'd heard over the claps of thunder; he knew that this was a hotel and it may of just been some person's child throwing a temper tantrum because it hadn't got what it wanted, Shou knew that children like that existed in the world...and he also knew that such a childish trait happened to grow with the person as well, not that he had been one of those spoilt children; on the contraire...in regards to his life now, he had practically been deprived.
But personal lamenting on his childhood aside, finding out about the source of the scream was currently much more important to the alchemist as he briefly glanced at the map that had been given to him by Gregory.
As he studied it, it came as a great shock to see that he was going back in the direction of his room...so the thing that he was investigating was more or less next door to his room?! so much for a peaceful stay.
Eventually he reached the spot where he was sure that the scream had come from, and after putting the map into one of his jacket pockets, had a look around; there was no sign of any living thing hiding anywhere ready to jump out at Shou, nor was there a spoilt child throwing a wailing temper tantrum...but there was a door to another room.
This door was different to Shou's one and the other doors alongside that corridor though...while all of those were wooden with a coat of blue paint on them, this one was a rusty-looking steel bolted door that had honestly looked like it had seen better days, there was a small slot-window that currently had the hatch over it so that no one could see what was inside; and to top all of that off, it had an iron padlock fixed to it, keeping the door firmly shut.
Although Shou was unfamiliar with this particular design of door, the bespectacled man just seemed rather uneasy about what could possibly be behind it.
' Gregory never mentioned anything about a room like this being in the hotel...then again, I can't say that I've really been here that long to be told about certain things anyway' he thought to himself as he took a step towards it.
It was times like this that Shou hated the curious side of his own personality...the side that loved to poke around the unknown and was persistant in doing such a thing until he got the answer that he'd been looking for, the side that pushed aside the warnings of others as if they were obstacles that were supposed to be overcome; and of course, the side who reckoned that the quest for knowledge was the most important thing above all else.
That side could also be taken as the alchemist within him...and right now, it was that particular side of his personality that was pushing him closer towards the door, intent on finding out the secrets that could be locked behind it; the door had a padlock on it after-all...that was suspicious in itself and there was no way that it could be used as a storeroom!
Studying what the door was made from, Shou very much doubted that he would be able to hear into the room if he put his ear to it, so his next best bet to find out if anything resided within the room, was to peek through the keyhole.
Kneeling down on the ground slightly, Shou then put his eye to the small keyhole that was fixed onto the door...of course it didn't take long for his eyes to widen in shock when he saw the contents of what the closed off room had to offer.
Unlike the wooden floorboards of Shou's room and most of the hotel's interior, the floor in the locked room was paved with cold stone; hardly looking comfortable nor welcoming at all...the only window in that room was a barred one ( much like one that would be found in a prison cell) and the only source of light in there came from the moonlight that shone through the window in-question.
With help from the light of the moon ( it was still dark outside? Shou thought that it would of been daytime by now) the young man could just about see how the walls of the room looked, but they were no better than the floor; being made of bare bricks that no one had even bothered to cover up.
But it wasn't just the state of the room that caught Shou's attention, as there was suddenly some motion in the darkest corner of the dungeon-like room and following that, a small crying sound started to become audible to the alchemist as he tried to see what on earth was making the noise in the first place.
The more he listened to it, the more that it reminded him of a small child when they were frightened...and to think that the poor thing was shut away in such a room, made Shou's heart ache with a tinge of pity.
' Who on earth could do something this cruel?!' he thought to himself as he kept looking into the room; despite being an alchemist who thought of things scientifically for the most part, there was still a remnant of Shou that was a loving father and it was also this particular part that could feel sympathy for others, needless to say that it was that part that was coming into play now.
To be continued~
Shou Tucker belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, BONES.
