Chapter 49 (The Seek)
Alexandra could hear a loud cracking sound, which almost sounded like a gunshot when she startled and opened her eyes.
It was dark already outside and Alexandra noticed the nightstand lamp being switched on – and she looked at the place in the bed where Jonathan was laying. The bed was empty and the blanket was folded back.
"Jonathan?" Alexandra said aloud and she gazed around, but she couldn´t see him anywhere.
Alexandra stood up and stretched. She grimaced with pain while touching her neck briefly. She realized how sore it was.
"Jon, where are you?" Alexandra shouted and gazed outside shortly to see if Jonathan was on the balcony, but he wasn´t there either.
Where is he? He has to be somewhere..´, flashed through Alexandra´s head and suddenly she was seized with panic when her gaze rested on the entrance door of the hotel room.
It was gaping wide open.
Now it was clear that Jonathan obviously had left the room, but it didn´t suit him at all to leave without a word and to leave the door wide open. An unpleasant feeling came over Alexandra. She was fearing that Jonathan´s seizure wasn´t over yet, that he still wasn´t okay. Who knows in what condition he was now – and this condition couldn´t be good if he just left the room without saying a word and keeping everything unlocked.
Alexandra swallowed heavily as she ran to the room door, calling Jonathan´s name. It was deadly silent. Even the rush of the sea couldn't be heard anymore and again Alexandra swallowed heavily when her gaze moved up to the ceiling. The usually bright light of the corridor flickered uneasily and for a moment she remembered the time she had to persevere in a cellar or in a cave for days, in complete darkness, being committed to the demons of her fear.
Alexandra shuddered, trying to break free from her bad memories.
"Hello?" Alexandra shouted and gazed into the corridor, but she couldn´t see anybody.
"Hello? Is anybody there?" she shouted again, but no one responded.
Obviously nobody was in the building anymore and Alexandra didn´t know where Jonathan was now.
Anyway, it doesn´t make sense to stay here and sit around idly.´ Alexandra thought as she walked down the corridor slowly.
Again and again, she shouted aloud, but no one responded. Alexandra tried to calm down, keeping her senses together.
Concentrate, don´t get distracted.´ flashed through her head when her gaze moved to the flickering light again.
Slowly, Alexandra walked along the wall of the corridor as the light started to flicker more and with every step, it became more difficult to see the floor. Her fingertips felt the hard concrete while Alexandra walked along the corridor wall step by step. Although she remembered it being shorter, the corridor now seemed to be endlessly long. Alexandra almost had the feeling as if the corridor even didn´t want to end at all.
Suddenly, Alexandra´s fingers felt something hard, something corrugated. She stopped and lowered her gaze. A metal bar was standing ajar in the doorway of one of the hotel rooms. It was almost as thick as a crowbar, but it was way longer. For a short moment Alexandra was wondering why such a thing was left right in front of a hotel room, but her hand gripped it instinctively. Alexandra knew, such an object could be a good weapon.
I´ll take it with me, just on all accounts..´ flashed through Alexandra´s mind when she could feel the cool metal between her palms and slowly, she started to move again.
It was still deadly silent, not even a sound was to be heard. Alexandra could feel her heart beating faster in her chest and she tried to suppress her fear and nervousness the best she could. Yes, she was scared, she was scared for Jonathan.
"Jonathan?" Alexandra shouted aloud again when she finally arrived at the stairs to the hotel lobby, but again she didn´t get a response.
Suddenly, Alexandra could sense a draft.
"Mommy?" she could hear a voice saying softly and Alexandra spun around.
She noticed a girl standing in front of her. The girl was little and delicate, maybe 7 or 8 years old. She had long, dark brown, curly hair and piercing blue eyes, eyes which reminded her immediately of Jonathan. Alexandra wasn´t sure, but she could swear she had seen this girl somewhere before.
"Hey.." Alexandra said softly, knelt down to the girl and touched her arm. "Did you lose your Mommy?"
But the girl didn´t respond and gazed at Alexandra with her sad big blue eyes.
Maybe the lil' girl is in shock.´ Alexandra thought. Anyway, I can´t leave her behind here.´
"What´s your name, sweety?" Alexandra asked in a low voice and softly stroked the girl´s cheek, when she saw a tear running down her small face.
"My name is Adelle." the girl said softly and rubbed her nose defiantly, trying to suppress her tears.
It was obvious that the girl was completely scared and all alone. Alexandra was unsure how to react. She hadn´t dealt a lot with children in her life and she didn´t know either what it meant to be a mother – and she could feel a stitch in her heart when she thought of her lost child.
"Okay ... okay, Adelle." Alexandra stuttered and softly stroked Adelle´s hair. "You´re coming with me now, okay? We´ll find your Mommy ... don´t be afraid, everything will be okay again."
Adelle nodded shortly and gripped Alexandra´s hand while rising up again.
"Stay close behind me, okay?" Alexandra said softly and gazed down at Adelle while both stepped down slowly into the hotel lobby.
A thousand thoughts flashed through Alexandra´s head. She knew she couldn´t leave the little girl behind, but she knew as well the she was distracted by her. If something would happen, Alexandra probably wouldn´t be able to react the way she normally would. Emotions like love and concern for other people could be dangerous in a situation such as this and Alexandra knew that now; she had to be alert more than ever before.
Slowly, Alexandra and Adelle took the last steps down into the hotel lobby.Newspapers were laying all over the lounge and the floor, the vase standing on the reception desk now was lay broken on the floor, the flowers half wilted amidst the shards. Alexandra looked over to the big windows. The beach promenade was deserted and the light of the lamps flickering uneasily. Alexandra could see the silhouette of the sea rush approaching her, like a predator lurking in its corner to attack in the right moment.
"Hello?... Mrs. Smith?" Alexandra shouted aloud, but she still didn´t get a response.
Now Alexandra knew something very strange was going on here!
"You stay here and you don´t move, okay Adelle?" Alexandra whispered and turned around to her.
Adelle nodded without saying a word when Alexandra let go of her hand, gripping the metal bar tightly with both hands. The girl was rooted to the spot, observing Alexandra, how she inspected slowly the hotel lobby, her eyes alert and her body tense. First she checked the rear area where they had come from, if someone was there, maybe hiding in a corner, but nobody could be seen. Alexandra turned around. Now she was looking directly at the reception desk, the big entrance door and a corridor located directly next to the reception desk. Obviously it led to another part of the house. The light was flickering there as well and Alexandra believed she heard a clicking noise coming out of that corridor.
"Mrs. Smith?" Alexandra shouted again and Adelle gazed at her with her big blue eyes when Alexandra approached the reception desk slowly.
Adelle followed her, but Alexandra kept her away with her arm. She didn´t know what would be behind this desk.
"No, wait here." Alexandra whispered, gazing shortly at Adelle when she slowly stepped around the desk into the direction of the corridor.
Suddenly Alexandra stopped and she gasped when she could see the tip of a foot laying on the floor behind the reception desk.
Oh my god! Somebody is laying there!´ flashed through Alexandra´s head and hastily, she looked over to Adelle.
"Stay where you are! Don´t move at all!" she shouted aloud and Alexandra almost feared that she had been too rude to the child, but by no means did she want the girl to notice what was happening here.
Alexandra placed the metal bar aside and stepped behind the reception desk. The person was laying on the belly in its own blood and at the stature and the clothing, Alexandra knew that it only could be Mrs. Smith. Alexandra squatted down. She turned over the old lady carefully and Alexandra had to restrain herself not to choke because of the horrible view facing her.
Mrs. Smith was covered all over with blood and she looked as if something or someone had torn parts out of her face. Disgusted, Alexandra let fall Mrs. Smith´s body back to the floor. She had seen something like this a couple of times in her life already, but she never was that shocked like she was now. A foul stink choked Alexandra. Hastily she covered her mouth and nose with her hand and rose, gasping for air. She walked two, three steps backwards away from the reception desk, but her eyes kept on staring at Mrs. Smith´s body.
What happened here? My god, what did just happen here!´ Alexandra thought, trying to fight her tears.
Who has done this to Mrs. Smith? And where was Jonathan? Was he involved in all this maybe?
"What is there! I want to see it!" Alexandra suddenly could hear Adelle´s voice. She could feel her little body pressing against her from the side and she was torn in her thoughs.
"No, Adelle! Stay away!" Alexandra shouted and she could feel her hand gripping Adelle´s body, pressing it away from her, her eyes still staring at Mrs. Smith.
"No, I don´t want that! You´re hurting me!" she could hear Adelle shouting.
Now Alexandra´s gaze moved away from Mrs. Smith. She turned around to Adelle and gazed at her – and Alexandra felt something welling up her throat as she looked into Adelle´s face. Now she wasn´t the little girl anymore. A thousand of maggots seethed over her face, they fell out of her ears, they wriggled out of her mouth, they wormed over her entire body. Only her piercing blue eyes burned into Alexandra´s skin when she pulled her hand away from Adelle, screaming and pressing herself against the wall, completely shocked by the view of what once was a little girl.
"Oh my god!" Alexandra yelled and she wasn´t able to move at all.
"You have left me, Mommy!" Adelle cried and Alexandra pressed herself against the wall even more as Adelle approached her - like a nightmare vision in slow motion. "Why did you leave me behind!"
Suddenly, all the thoughts and pictures flashed through Alexandra´s head - all the ones she had had in her past so many times: The pictures of her rape, the blood on her hands when she was holding her abdomen, her time at the hospital when the physicians told her that she had lost the baby, Jonathan´s tears and his screams when she told him about the child.
"No! No!" Alexandra screamed, while Adelle still approached her.
"You allowed it that I got killed, Mommy! You have left me, Mommy! It´s your fault that I´m dead!" the girl shrieked while her face was eaten away by maggots.
Alexandra screamed aloud again when she broke away from the wall, stumbling into the corridor.
Just away, away from here! This all here can´t be real!
Alexandra could still hear Adelle´s voice and she wasn´t sure if she was following her. She didn´t look back and kept on running along the corridor. She could feel tears running down her face and her lungs were burning, but by no means did she want to stop running. The clicking noise she had heard before became louder now. Suddenly, Alexandra stopped abruptly when a figure stepped out of the nothingness. It was a ninja!
What? A ninja! Here!´ flashed through Alexandra´s mind and looking at his armor, Alexandra knew that he was a member of the League of Shadows.
The League of Shadows. A ninja secret society, hiding and training in the Himalayas. The league, Alexandra knew that it existed although she wasn´t a member. The league, her ex-lover Henri Ducard belonged to.
What was this ninja doing here? Was Henri maybe here as well!
"What..?" Alexandra shouted aloud, but she didn´t come further as the ninja attacked her with his nunchaku and the hard wood missed Alexandra´s body just by a fraction of an inch.
As quick as a flash, Alexandra turned around her hips and kicked the ninja into the back. He stumbled and let go of the nunchaku.
"Where is Ducard!" Alexandra yelled, but the ninja didn´t respond and attacked her immediately.
Alexandra blocked, but the ninja´s fist hit her face and his hands pressed her against the corridor wall, but Alexandra managed it break free. Maybe she was a bit rusty, but she hadn't forgotten her martial arts training. She remembered everything in sudden bursts when the ninja kept on attacking her. Finally, Alexandra knocked him out with a well-aimed punch.
Her hand touched her nose and she could feel something warm and wet on her fingers. It was blood. She wasn´t sure but maybe the ninja had broken her nose.
"Jane!" she could hear a dark voice shouting and she gasped when she suddenly saw Henri Ducard stepping out of the dark. He was dressed like a ninja as well and he was wearing the armor of the League of Shadows. Alexandra noticed a ninja sword in his hands.
Without saying a word, Henri took a fighting position. Alexandra didn´t consider long the situation, but tore the sword out of the sheath the ninja was carrying on his back. The metal clashed aloud and sparks flew when the two sharp blades collided. Henri was at least two heads taller than Alexandra and she had trouble to counter his forceful blows when he was attacking her over and over again, grinning and without saying a word.
Alexandra was panting aloud when Henri gazed at her for a short moment. He didn´t move at all, his grey eyes were sparkling and she noticed a light smile around his lips. For a second, Alexandra didn´t see the cold-hearted man, boss and lover he had become over the last years. No, for a moment she could see the soft, good-hearted man who carried her tenderly in his arms when he got her out of jail in Asia. The man who treasured her when she was dangerously ill, for days, for weeks.
Was it Alexandra´s destiny that all the men she loved would become monsters?
Suddenly, she could hear Adelle´s voice at the other end of the corridor and she had the feeling that her voice was approaching.
This is not Adelle!´ everything screamed in Alexandra´s mind. You need to get out of here!´
She couldn´t go back – but she couldn´t stay here either. She had to get away from here and Henri was in her way.
She could hear Adelle screaming "Mooommyyy!" when Alexandra attacked Henri yelling, who still kept on grinning at her without saying a word.
The metal clashed again and the sparks flew when the sword blades hit each other over and over again. Henri's blade missed Alexandra and the steel buried itself into the wall of the corridor. Henri gripped the sword with both hands and tried to get it out of the wall cursing, but he couldn´t. Alexandra used that split second and rushed past Henri along the corridor.
Henri´s cursing got softer as well as did Adelle´s voice when Alexandra finally got out of the corridor and stumbled into a dark room. She panted aloud and gasped for air, holding the sword limply in her hand as she walked through the room. She kept looking back at the corridor to see if Henri or Adelle were following her. But there was no one - everything was quiet again. Alexandra couldn´t hear anything.
Thank God, it´s over..´ Alexandra sighed softly and she wanted to turn her gaze forward again when something suddenly grabbed her throat.
Alexandra looked up and she screamed as she gazed into something she had seen once before – something evil, something inhuman, a grimace ... and then she could hear a voice ... and she believed to knew this voice ... she was sure, it was Jonathan´s voice.
"Your time is over! No one will stop me!"
