A/N: I am so, so sorry for the long wait! I've had quite a few personal things happen that wasn't good for me...but in the midst of all the bad...there's a good thing too...I'm pregnant with child number two! That's also been a factor on my motivation but hey...I'm gonna catch up. And thanks again to evolution-500 for putting up with me! Hope you like this chapter.
Leon POV
Deja vu usually isn't altogether unpleasant-unless of course you're remembering Spain. The back of this jeep smells of wine and cheese, preventing me from falling asleep with my chin in my hand. The architecture speeding by is beautiful, but cannot hold my attention. I almost feel bad for not appreciating it, but there are worse things out there to worry about.
To be honest, as much as I dread being out here, it feels good to be doing something again. I sigh and sit up, fingers finding the button on the door and unrolling the window. The warm, humid air hits me in the face, helping to remove wandering thoughts. My Italian escort turns on the radio allowing classic opera to disturb the peace of the car, but not in an unpleasant way.
This guy isn't as much of a talker, and I'm grateful for it. He introduced himself as Sarge when he first picked me up, but other than that he hasn't said a word to me. His hazel eyes stay on the Cobble stone road and his jelled dark brown hair doesn't fall out of place, even when we hit a pot hole. Hair goals.
I catch myself constantly smelling the air, waiting to smell burning pork...the smell of human flesh being roasted. The smell never comes though, and I allow myself to relax a little. After the short drive to Hotel Marincanto: Romeo and Juliet, I step out and the driver hands me my bag from the trunk.
"You are brave. Lots of Americans go missing from this hotel," the driver comments. I hand him a $20.
"Yeah, well I don't intend to stay long," I reply. He shrugs and tucks the money in his pocket, then gets in his car and drives off. Shrugging my back pack onto my shoulder, I make my way inside.
The hotel itself is worthy for its 4 stars in looks alone. Built on the side of the mountain it has a huge pool and many decks looking out onto the beach. Many trees and bushes give the outside a colorful splash. On the inside it has a color scheme of cream and gold and everything shimmers. For $224 a night, the beds had better be comfortable.
The blonde man behind the desk wears something similar to white scrubs with a black jacket. He checks me in, and I watch him study my drivers license as he makes a copy and hands it back. He thanks me for choosing their hotel and a dark haired valet shows me up to room 204. I send her off with a tip and a flirt, then enter my room.
Lots of pictures of the city both here and Verona. Paintings of Romeo and Juliet hang on the walls. Flowers are everywhere and the white and royal blue bedding looks inviting. There are double glass doors with sheer curtains that lead way to a large balcony. A jacuzzi sits hidden from view of neighbors by a brown brick wall divider. Too bad I'm not here on vacation, because a jacuzzi sounds like it is exactly what I need.
Instead of stripping (like I really, really want to) I sit on the bed and pull my laptop from my back pack. Booting it up, I insert my government ID and log in. A map eventually loads, with blueprints of this hotel. The grounds are vast and would be difficult to comb through, but I doubted I would find anything anyway. Not out in the open. The people here seem to still have their own minds...my best bet would be a basement.
Sure enough, there's an unmarked room beneath the mountain hotel. I zoom in. Large area, with a closet space...though the closet is double doored and quite wide. An elevator maybe? I decide it's worth checking out and pull out my work phone to call Hunnigan.
"Leon, how's Italy?"
"No hello? How are you doing, handsome?" I reply with a smirk.
Ingrid turns a shade darker and rolls her eyes. "Sorry, I just always wanted to visit Verona! You get checked in okay?"
"Yeah. Everyone's been nice. There's a basement I'm gonna check out after it gets dark."
"A basement? Isn't that a little obvious?"
"Maybe, but these companies haven't exactly been too original with these facilities."
"Well, stay safe and check in every now and again."
"Worried about me?"
"You know I am."
Ingrid hangs up first and then I stuff my own phone in my pocket. She and I went on a few dates after Spain, but my life was too fucked up to handle alcohol, my mental health, my job, and a girlfriend. We decided to be friends and honestly it's better this way. Having someone to love only makes going away that much harder.
+×+
Surprisingly, the basement didn't even have any visible cameras. No one stopped me when I pushed open the door, so I slipped inside quietly and pulled out my compact flashlight to look around. The steps went down like an old castle, spiraling down into the chilly darkness that sends shivers up my spine.
The ground floor is a wide, spacious room with crates, shelves, laundry, and wine racks. The air smells of alcohol and cheese, and a hint of grass. I wander over to a cheese cart where samples are set up as if someone had been about to cart it up, and pluck a plastic wrapped chunk of cheddar. Stuffing it in my mouth after it is unwrapped I almost moan. I stuff a few more samples in my pockets and head over to the closet area. There is a stand up locker with brooms and mops and various cleaning supplies.
Ignoring that, I proceed to the double doors beside the closet. A low glowing button with a down arrow on it is about chest height on the wall. I press it, and the double doors whoosh open to reveal the elevator beneath.
"This is almost too easy," I mumble as I step in. Right as I press the button to go down a level, a badge reader lights up.
"Please Scan Identification," a mechanical woman's voice says. After a couple of seconds with me looking at it a red light begins to beep and flash.
"Shit."
Suddenly, the lights turn on. I crouch behind a large crate by the stairs and turn off my flashlight as someone runs down them. An Italian security guard makes a beeline for the elevator. It opens revealing the empty room and he scans his badge and types in a code, making the flashing and beeping stop. Next, the man (who has a super cool mustache) turns to investigate the room.
He circles, eats some cheese, then takes a bottle of wine to hide in his puffy jacket. Then, he comes closer to my hiding spot. Taking my chance as he passes by, I spring forward and wrap my arm around his throat.
"Ugh!" The guard struggles, attempting to stomp on my feet while tugging on my much buffer bicep. I squeeze harder, his slapping hand becoming weaker by the second. As he begins to pass out, I gently lower him to the floor. His green eyes shut and I stay there a second longer before plucking up his badge and running back to the elevator, scanning it and pressing the 'down' arrow.
Rose
My breath is trapped in my throat, my hand over my mouth as my chest heaves. I've always been great at holding my breath...my record being 5.2 minutes, but now I am going on six and have no idea why. The girl in the cell beside me knows I am hidden under the metal bed frame already. But every instinct I have tells me to hide and stay quiet.
The black ooze and gunk in her cell nearly encompasses all the white. Her arms extend and turn into black leathery tentacles that slap against the window wall so hard it vibrates. The terror ripping down my spine screams 'get out! The wall is going to break!'.
The girls' black eyes are focused on me, spider veins crawling from the eyeballs down her cheeks and pulse mockingly. Her gray teeth nash and blackened spillage vomits from her mouth when she screams at me. She throws her entire body against the glass and a spider web crack appears. Involuntarily I scream into my hand.
Suddenly, the lights go off. Everything goes quiet. After a moment, I peek my head out from under the bed and see the light of the lock has gone out. Emergency lights turn on out in the hall and the girl so intent on getting me turns to her own door, raises her tentacle arm, and swings forward. The door flies out into the hallway and crashes into the wall, tearing some of the drywall out and it falls to the floor. She steps out; out of my line of sight as she turns toward my cell.
Tears prick at my eyes when the thudding starts at my door. One thud and a huge dent, and then the door falls from its hinges. The girl stands in the threshold, arm writhing.
"Leave me alone!" I scoot back to the wall underneath the bed. I watch as her dirty feet come closer, her wheezing alone would give me nightmares if I lived past now. Her once pretty face appears when she kneels down and her arm darts down and wraps around my throat. "Urgh!" I gurgle and my hands fly up to try and disentangle myself. She pulls me out from under the bed and my eyes start to roll into the back of my skull.
Cant breath! My feet kick slightly as she lifts me. Her stale breath assaults my nose, making me gag. She inhales deeply and then wheezes..."We...ssss...ker."
My vision completely goes and I fall limp, unable to even scream at the pain in my chest.