1:21 PM

Luna sighed as she walked through the ornate hallway with Dusk. She kept looking back in the direction Thorn and Brian went. What if something happens to her? Luna recoiled from that thought.

"She'll be fine," Dusk said, breaking Luna from her thoughts.

"I don't trust him," Luna replied as she turned around for the who-knows-how-many-times.

"If Brian really is a secret cult assassin and tries something, Thorn will go all witch on him," Dusk said while punching the air for emphasis.

Luna stopped walking. "You really think that? After your rant earlier."

"Yeah I do," Dusk said with a straight face. "I'm pissed at Thorn because she won't use her magic and that puts us in danger. She needs to accept that so we can survive this. The sooner she does the sooner we can get the hell out of here, and she'll feel much better about herself. Otherwise, she's our biggest problem."

Luna shuddered, but she managed to hide it from Dusk, and ultimately nodded in agreement. She didn't want to think of Thorn as a problem, but given her behavior, she was. Luna had tried a more sympathetic approach with getting Thorn to accept her magic but made little progress. Thorn was too afraid of herself. Not that Luna blamed her for doing so after everything she was going through. She knew Thorn still felt guilty about everything that happened at the temple and no doubt the Fallen's possession had crippled her self-esteem. Thorn needed her faith in herself restored, though Luna was struggling to help Thorn with that challenge.

"But when push comes to shove, she'll come around to it," Dusk said, breaking Luna from her thoughts. "I just want it to happen sooner rather than later."

Luna nodded. "I hope you're right."

"I hope so too," Dusk replied as they resumed walking. "Now let's get this job done."

Though Luna worried about Thorn and was suspicious of Brian, her talk with Dusk helped restore her confidence in Thorn. Thorn can take care of herself. Perhaps I'm overthinking things again. Maybe Brian is who he says he is. If you're looking for ghosts, you go to where people say they've seen them. And besides, there's a large demand for paranormal investigators with all criminals in costumes. She chuckled to herself. Maybe this is all some elaborate hoax. Heck, maybe the cultist is trying to keep us from the treasure. She smiled. That had to be it. It was a solution that neatly tied everything together and, much to her delight, required no supernatural elements. All it came down to was identifying the cultist. Brian was of course her main (and only) suspect, though she had to reconsider the foreman, as they haven't seen him since they arrived.

"Earth to Luna," Dusk said, waving her hand in front of Luna's face, "you almost stepped on a clue."

Luna blinked and shook her head. She was in the lobby and had walked well-past the reception desk and the back office. She looked down.

"Oh um, good eye Dusk," Luna laughed, slightly blushing over the fact she didn't see the two sets of muddy boot prints crossing the lobby floor. Looking in the direction the tracks came from, Luna raised an eyebrow as part of the tarp wall that blocked the entrance was partially moved aside, allowing for easy access to the lobby from outside.

"Oh no," Luna gasped upon realizing that the tracks led to the office behind the reception desk.

Luna and Dusk ran to the room and swung the door open.

"Shit!" Luna grunted upon seeing the room. Every paper that had been strewn on the floor was gone. The filing cabinets were empty and the blueprints with all the 'X's' on them were missing. There was nothing but muddy boot prints and the hole in the floor.

Luna sighed as she double-checked the filing cabinets, but there was nothing. She pulled the seat over to her and sat down. Slouched in the chair, she groaned. She had wanted to go through the documents, especially the financial ones, to see if she could find possible suspects, but obviously, that wasn't happening.

"Maybe the foreman already got them for Brian," Dusk suggested as she sat on the desk.

"Maybe," Luna groaned. With no other options, Luna texted Thorn to let her and Brian know that the documents were missing. But as she was returning her phone to her purse, her attention shifted to something metal under the desk. She got up from her seat and retrieved the item.

"Whatcha find?" Dusk asked.

"Keys," Luna replied, showing Dusk her find.

It was a keyring with a set of seven different keys on it attached to a green lanyard with the words "Pro Fitness Gym" written on it.

"Whose is it?" Dusk asked.

"Good question," Luna replied, not taking her eyes off the keys. Unfortunately, there was no means of identifying the owner. Luna frowned as she put the keys in her purse.

"Guess we'll meet up with Thorn and Brian," Luna said.

"Sounds like a pl-" Dusk stopped and hopped off the desk. She passed Luna without a word and walked to the edge of the large hole in the floor. "There's a table down here."

"Uh, what?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A table," Dusk repeated. "And the boxes got moved."

Luna joined Dusk and looked into the hole. Sure enough, it was exactly as Dusk said: the boxes Dusk had fallen into were gone, and in their place was a large table covered in faded boot prints and a few cigarette butts. As a result, the table made the drop about three or four feet, which made accessing the basement from the filing room much safer.

"Think someone's down there?" Dusk asked.

"Absolutely," Luna said. "Those tracks look fresh and no tracks are leading back out the door. Someone's in the basement and they were probably there when we were."

"The cultist?"

Luna rubbed her chin. "Maybe."

"But wouldn't that mean Brian isn't the cultist?"

Luna hesitated before responding. "Could be more than one person. There were two sets of footprints in the lobby."

There was a brief silence between the two girls as they looked into the basement.

"Now what? Should we go down?" Dusk asked.

Luna shook her head. "Not yet. We need to get Thorn and Brian. This pretty much confirms it's a person since why would a ghost need a table to get into the basement. The four of us should be able to flush whoever's down there, assuming Brian's not in cahoots with them."

Luna took her phone out again. Thorn still hadn't responded to her earlier text, which worried her. She decided to call her.

"Come on Thorn, answer me," Luna mumbled as the phone kept ringing.

Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!

Luna lowered the phone, ending the call upon hearing Thorn's voicemail, as she and Dusk turned toward the wall.

Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!

The two girls glanced at each other.

"The hell was that?" Dusk exclaimed before walking over to the wall.

Luna pulled up the image of the blueprints on her phone. "There's a kitchen and dining area on the other side of the wall."

"It sounded like someone was banging pots and pans together," Dusk said.

Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!

"We need to check it out," Luna said, not bothering to hide her anxiety.

"Why?" Dusk countered. "Last time we checked out a weird noise, we got locked in a room and almost died."

"I know," Luna groaned, "but what if it's Thorn, and she needs help. What if Brian attacked her? What if those noises were from fighting?" Her face was reddening and her breaths quickened. "There's no more noise. What if she's injured. What if he's coming for us next!" She was shuddering.

"Hey, take it easy," Dusk said, wrapping an arm around Luna, "we'll go check it out."

Luna felt a bit better with Dusk's reassurance. She took a long breath and exhaled. Calm. Down. We don't know for sure if that's Thorn. She adjusted her shirt's collar and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"You good," Dusk asked.

"Yeah," Luna said, still a bit shaky. "Thank you."

Dusk gave her a comforting smile before releasing her. "So where's this kitchen?"

Luna checked her phone. "We passed the dining area on the way here and it connects directly with the kitchen." There was still no response from Thorn.

"Ok then, let's get going," Dusk replied as they headed toward the door.


Luna pushed open the set of ornate doors that led to the dining area. The room was vast, the largest room they'd seen at the hotel not counting the basement. However, the room was dark, and they had to use their phones as flashlights. There were dozens of round tables spaced equidistant from each other. Each table was covered with a white cloth and five to six chairs placed upside down on them. Above them, large chandeliers glistened from the faint phone light. On the opposite end of the room, Luna could vaguely see another set of doors, which Luna presumed led to the kitchen.

They moved through the darkness, guided only by the dim light of their phone. Luna couldn't describe it, but there was an eerie stillness to the room; a lack of movement and noise that no matter how loudly she walked, would not break. She found it almost hard to breathe, though she wasn't certain if that was because of some element of the room or her own mind psyching her out.

"Did you see that?" Dusk whispered, shining her phone at a nearby table next to a wall.

"No," Luna answered, shining her own phone at the spot. There was of course nothing there. "What did you see?"

"I don't know," Dusk replied in a hushed tone. "I saw something dart under the table."

"It's probably a mouse or something," Luna said. "Now let's get to the kitchen and find a light switch."

"But it was bigger than a mouse," Dusk said.

Luna winced in disgust. There weren't many animals that she harbored ill-intent toward, but rats were one of those few she despised. She vividly recalled the time they were staying at this cheap motel on the outskirts of Boston for one of their first gigs as a band. During the night, she woke up to the horrifying sight of a rat on the foot of her bed. She spent the night in the car and Thorn and Dusk took turns delivering her cups of chamomile tea to help calm her down. Suffice to say, if Dusk saw a rat, Luna wanted to be as far away from it as possible.

"Just leave it alone," Luna grumbled, tugging Dusk's sleeve to get her move.

Luna quickened her pace but before she could reach the kitchen door, she felt something knick her foot, like a pinprick.

"Watch your step," Luna said as she stopped to check her foot.

"I didn't do anything," Dusk countered. "I'm like five steps behind you."

She shined her light in the direction she believed the prick came from. There was a slight flutter of the table cloth though that could've been from her brushing up against the table. But her eyes widened in fear as in the periphery of the light, she could've sworn she saw something long gleam before crawling away. She quickly adjusted the light but saw nothing. God, I hope I'm imagining things and it's not a fucking rat. She lowered her sock and on her ankle was a speck of red. She wiped the spot, confirming that there were two small puncture wounds.

"You alright?" Dusk asked.

"Yeah, I must've brushed against a piece of wood or something," Luna rationalized. "I'll be fine."

With the wound being minor, Luna made sure to stay away from the tables before continuing to the kitchen. But as she was about to swing open the kitchen doors, she rubbed her forehead and stumbled. She felt a tad light-headed. She blinked a few times and the light-headedness faded just as quickly as it arrived. I need to check that cut out. She had packed a few bandages and some alcohol wipes so she could at least clean her wound. Once she got to the kitchen, she'd take care of it.

She pushed open the doors and spotted the light switch. As she turned the kitchen lights on, her hand brushed against something furry on a shelf next to the light switch.

"AHHHH!" Luna screamed, jumping away from the shelf.

A rat squealed as it leaped off the shelf and landed near Luna. Luna screamed and the rat charged her; she frantically sidestepped the aggressive rodent and when she was around it, she grabbed a large pot from a counter and threw it at the rat. Before the pot could even hit the rat, Luna turned around and ran screaming farther into the kitchen.

"Luna wait!"

Luna didn't wait. She didn't even think. Every fiber in her body told her to keep running and not to look back. She rounded a corner and ran down the long corridor lined with shelves holding various foodstuffs. She ran several yards before stopping at a point where the corridor widened.

She leaned up against a counter, panting from both the run and her fear. I got away from it. Calm down and find Dusk. Still trembling from the encounter, she looked down the corridor.

"Dusk!" she called out "I'm over here!"

No answer.

"Dusk!"

She could hear Dusk's footsteps.

Luna's jaw dropped and her heart skipped a beat upon seeing the abomination round the corner. An enormous rat, one that rivaled Scooby-Doo in size, with matted black fur and piercing yellow eyes gnashed its blood-covered teeth at her. The monstrous rodent glared and hissed at her before charging.

Luna stumbled backward and fell over. She burst into tears as she tried crawling away from the approaching rodent. But the rat was closing in on her. She reached up and grabbed the first thing she could get hold of. The rat lounged. With her heart racing and adrenaline pumping, she closed her eyes and screamed, swinging whatever she was holding with all her strength.

"Hey! Take it easy Kim."

Luna opened her teary eyes. Dusk was standing before her, holding back her arm. Luna sniffled upon seeing a large rolling pin in her hand. She dropped it. Luna sobbed and she hugged Dusk.

"You're alright," Dusk said, patting Luna's back. "Though I don't know why you freaked out."

"Rats," Luna sobbed. "Giant rat."

"There aren't any rats," Dusk said with a comforting smile. "Normal or of an unusual size."

Luna hesitantly raised her head and looked around. They were in the cooking area of the kitchen, which consisted of three long islands that consisted of several stoves, ovens, fryers, and other appliances. There were tons of dishes and other utensils lying around, but more importantly, there were no rats anywhere in sight.

"But I saw them," Luna gasped. "I touched them"

"You knocked over a roll of paper towels when you turned the lights on," Dusk said with a slight chuckle. "You then freaked out, threw a pot at it, and ran away before you tried knocking me out with a rolling pin."

Luna wiped her eyes. She knew what she saw, but Dusk's account of what happened and the lack of physical evidence were issues. Did I actually see what I saw? She didn't know and at this point, didn't care.

"Let's get out of here," Luna said, letting go of Dusk.

"Yeah, we'll go back to the lobby and call Thorn," Dusk said as she and Luna headed back the way they came.

They only made it a few steps before the pungent odor of rotten eggs stopped them in their tracks. Both girls covered their noses.

Luna shook her head in disgust."It's the same smell as be-"

"Shhh!" Dusk shushed. She nudged Luna back as the kitchen doors swung open and the smell worsened, morphing into a smell of decay and rot.

"Move," Dusk whispered as she motioned for Luna to follow her.

They quickly got behind the farthest island and crouched behind an oven and waited. With each heavy footstep, Luna's heart beat faster and she felt nauseated. As the entity neared, Luna gripped Dusk's hand as if it were the only thing protecting her.

The footsteps stopped and it became silent.

Dusk tapped Luna's shoulder. "Who is it?" she whispered, barely audible to hear despite being right next to her.

Luna slowly peeked around the oven and her entire body tensed up. There was a person, easily six feet in height wearing a decrepit, rotten cloak with the hood up, obscuring its face and body. The person was looking at the ground, seemingly examining something. She watched in suspense as the cloaked figure picked up the rolling pin she'd nearly weaponized. It looked over the rolling pin for a moment before placing it back on the ground.

"What's happening?" Dusk whispered.

Luna froze as the cloaked figure slowly and methodically turned its head, scanning the kitchen with the precision of a predator. And as its face came into view, Luna ducked, but not before catching a glimpse of what was under the hood.

"The eyes," she muttered, quietly enough that she almost mistook it for a thought. All she could see were those eyes, sickly yellow and almost human. Ancient and predatory, belonging to something that lurked in the darkness just beyond the campfires of early humans, waiting for one to stray too far from the safety of the fire. She wanted to crawl into one of the nearby cabinets and hide, but she felt paralyzed. Instead, she gripped Dusk's hand even tighter.

There was a low growl as the entity took a step in their direction.

Perhaps it was through sheer morbid curiosity or wanting to determine what the threat was doing, but Luna found herself peering around the oven again. The entity had its hand placed on the countertop of the first island. Luna recoiled in disgust as the figure's sleeve shifted and...something crawled onto the counter. It was black and segmented, with innumerable bone-like legs resembling a shadowy centipede, though she couldn't get a good look of its head. The pitter-patter of chitinous legs against the dishes and pots sent shivers down her spine.

She felt a tug on her arm and turned to Dusk.

"We're not going to make it if we're both here," Dusk said in a hushed voice.

"Are they...trying to cut us off?" Luna gulped.

Dusk nodded.

The cloaked figure took another step closer. Without hesitating, Luna and Dusk frantically crawled away. They stopped at the far end of the third island when the cloaked figure stopped. Did it see us? Luna was too afraid to look. There must've been a closet nearby as Luna heard a door open followed by a loud, guttural grunt. The cloaked entity then slammed the door shut.

"There's another door just past here," Dusk whispered, pointing at an exit sign.

"Okay um," Luna stammered. She swallowed and leaned her head against a counter. Calm down. Think. Two exits. Two things. They didn't see us yet. The only advantages they had were that they weren't discovered and the islands were tall enough that one couldn't easily see beyond the next island if they were standing in front of one. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before the figure caught them. One of us has to… She shook her head. No, there has to be another way.

Dusk made a disgruntled sigh. "I'm gonna make a run for it."

"What!? That's insane!" Luna gasped.

The cloaked figure took another meticulous step, passing the second island.

"Kim, only one of us is making it out of here," Dusk sighed, looking Luna right in the eye. Luna trembled.

"I'm faster than you; I can buy you time to get out," Dusk said. Luna could see the sadness in her friend's eyes. "Then you find Thorn, and you two figure out a way to beat this fucking creep."

Luna didn't bother to wipe the tears from her eyes. She grabbed Dusk's hand. "Please don't do this Jane."

Dusk held her hand for a brief moment and gave her a half-smile to mask, though looking into her bright blue eyes, Luna saw the fear.

Both the centipede creature and the cloaked figure growled. The figure opened another cabinet door and then slammed it shut.

"I'm sorry Kim, but if there's anyone who can figure out how to stop this thing, it's you and I'm gonna give you every possible chance to do that," Dusk said, still smiling despite her teary eyes.

Dusk let go of Luna's hand and drew her dagger. Luna did everything in her power to not cry, lest either creature heard her. She knew there was no talking Dusk out of it and that she only had a few precious seconds to make her move.

Dusk adjusted Luna's purse that was falling off her arm. "As soon as I run, you go back the way we came."

Luna nodded. "Jane…"

Another cabinet door opened.

Dusk rose and ran. Luna scrambled to the other side of the island. Plates and dishes clattered on the floor, followed by the thud of the centipede creature jumping to the ground. There were hisses and growls. The cloaked figure's pace quickened. With tears in her eyes, Luna scurried down the aisle, keeping her head low so the creatures couldn't see her.

She reached the end of the island and turned, still crawling on her hands and knees. She made it past the second one. She was still unseen. I can do this. I have to. For Dusk.

Clunk!

She froze when she felt the ladle handle against her shoulder before it fell to the floor, causing it to clatter. Maybe it didn't hear it. She peered around the oven that marked the end of the island. Luna gulped when she saw the cloaked figure stop at the end of the island. It turned around and Luna ducked.

The cloaked figure slowly approached. Luna's heart was racing. Acting more on instinct, she crawled around the corner. She spotted an opening in the island large enough for her to hide in and crawled into it as the cloaked figure turned down the aisle she was in.

And she waited. She covered her mouth to muffle her whimpers. The smell worsened and she felt her stomach churn. Her heart was racing, her hands were clammy, and her entire body was on the verge of shaking. Yet she sat there, still as a statue, waiting in silence. She felt bile rise in the back of her throat. The figure was only a few feet from her, still on the move. Her body ached from wanting to move, but she remained still, determined to survive this. For Dusk.

Her heart nearly stopped when she saw the flutter of the black cloak. She closed her eyes. The figure stopped. She was in tears, a silent sob. Please keep walking. Please keep walking.

"Hmmph!"

There were footsteps, heading away from her. Luna opened her eyes. The figure had moved farther down the aisle. She let out one of the most satisfying sighs of relief as the figure's footsteps softened. She rolled out of her hiding spot and scrambled to her feet. She did it. All she had to do was run to the exit. And that's what she did.

BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT!

Luna whimpered as her phone continued to ring at max volume, her purse doing nothing to muffle the ringtone. She knew it found her and after a moment, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her toward the door.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

She looked back and gasped in terror as a cold, three-fingered hand grabbed her throat; she let out a choked cry as the cloaked figure effortlessly lifted her into the air. She kicked and flailed her arms, but the figure's vice-like grip was unbreakable. She tried to call for help, but all she managed to get out was a slight gurgle.

Luna tried closing her eyes, but when she did, it tightened its grip.

"Look at me."

The voice was deep and raspy. Primordial and full of malice, like it was mimicking human speech.

She did as told and its grip loosened enough that she could gasp at the horrid sight before her. It bore only the slightest resemblance to a human as it lacked a nose, ears, lips, and hair. Its flesh was gray, reminiscent of ash or burning charcoal, and flies crawled across its sickly face. Its mouth was smeared with blood while its rancid breath burned her nostrils and made her eyes water; she almost threw up.

It examined her, taking in every detail of her, in an almost analytic manner. Its gaze made her skin crawl and when it made eye contact with her, she felt an indescribable sense of fear, as if it were looking at her very soul. She cried.

It remained unfazed by her pitiful attempts to free herself, and it simply continued to look over her until its gaze rested on her shoulder. It frowned. "Wrong one."

Luna felt a chill as it looked her in the eye.

"No matter. I could use another snack."

Luna screamed as the entity opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth. There was a wet rip as its lower jaw split into two mandible-like appendages, causing Luna to scream louder. Adrenaline was rushing through her, and she hit and kicked the monstrous entity with all her might, fighting to survive. But the being simply leaned forward, ignoring her strikes. Tears were streaming down her face and her attacks weakened. Please don't let me die like this!

She felt her purse slide down her arm and she noticed the can of pepper spray. She reached under the creature's arm with her other hand. She scraped the can with her nails, moving it ever so slightly closer to her grasp, but it remained out of reach. The creature's jaws unhinged further, tripling the size of its mouth as it practically enveloped her head.

"LET HER GO!"

The creature jerked its head back and let out a blood-curdling screech as Dusk stabbed it in the back with her dagger. It turned to face Dusk and backhanded her, sending her careening into the wall. That movement jostled the pepper spray into Luna's grasp. She grabbed it, got her thumb on the button, and raised the canister as the monster faced her.

She screamed as the stream of pepper spray hit the monster. The monster shrieked and threw Luna into a cabinet. She grunted upon hitting the floor. She recovered the can of pepper spray and scrambled to her feet. She ran to Dusk, narrowly avoiding the blind lunge of the creature. It screeched as it tore apart the metal cabinet with ease in a hellish fury. It blindly swiped the air, hissing in agony before running deeper into the kitchen.

"Dusk!" Luna shouted upon reaching her friend.

Dusk groaned and rolled onto her side. There was a streak of blood going down the side of her face and Luna gasped.

"I thought I told you to get out of here," the injured girl mumbled, cracking a smile.

"Thank god you're alive!" Luna said with an ecstatic sigh.

"Just get us out of here before that thing comes back," Dusk groaned.

Luna helped Dusk to her feet. Luna wrapped Dusk's arm around her shoulder and allowed Dusk to use her as a crutch. They hobbled to the door, only briefly stopping so Luna could grab Dusk's dropped dagger, now covered in what she could only describe as green blood, and the paper towels she had mistaken for a rat so she could treat Dusk's head injury. She pushed open the kitchen doors.

"You're going to be alright Jane," Luna reassured her friend.

She could see the glimmer of light from behind the doors that led to the hallway. She quickened their pace, though shuddered when she passed the first table.

"Do you remember what happened to that centipede thing?" Luna asked.

"I took care of it," Dusk managed to say. She rested her head on Luna's shoulder. Dusk's pace slowed and Luna felt Dusk lean against her.

Luna sighed with relief, knowing that the threats were gone but worry quickly set in as Dusk was only standing because Luna was supporting her. They slowly made their way to the door, and before she knew it, Luna pushed open the door. They hobbled a bit down the hall until they reached the first room they saw. They opened the door and entered the room.

It was a hotel room with a single bed, a bathroom, and a couple of dressers that matched the rest of the hotel. Luna walked Dusk to the bed and laid her on it. Luna grabbed several sheets of paper towels and dampened them in the bathroom sink. She returned to Dusk and wiped the blood from her face.

"How bad is it?" Dusk asked, more coherently than a few minutes ago.

Luna wiped the wound, causing Dusk to wince.

"I don't think you'll need stitches," Luna said, looking over the gnash on Dusk's forehead

"That's good," Dusk said with a slight chuckle, "since neither of us can stitch."

"I'll have Thorn look you over, she's better with medical stuff," Luna said, switching out the bloody paper towel for a clean one.

"Did she ever call you back?" Dusk asked.

Luna gave Dusk the towel, before checking her phone.

'1 Missed Call: Gus'

Luna grunted. She'd forgotten about Gus's required check-ins and it almost cost her their lives. She'd call him in a bit, after making sure Dusk was fine.

But more worrying was that Thorn never responded to her text or call and that was not like her given how protective she was over her and Dusk.

"She didn't answer," Luna stated.

Dusk grunted and winced as she sat up. "Then we can't sit here anymore. We need to find Thorn before that thing does."

Luna tried getting Dusk to lay back down. "You're in no condition to leave."

"I'm better Kim," Dusk said, motioning Luna to give her some space. Dusk groaned as she got to her feet. She wobbled for a moment before catching her balance. "I can stand."

"Dusk… your head," Luna said.

"I'm fine, the dizziness is gone," Dusk said as she began a cautious yet steady walk to the door. "I'll be better if we find Thorn." Dusk stopped and faced Luna. "Thanks."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you," Luna began, shivering as the memory of that creature returned. "If you didn't come back I'd…"

"Kim, don't worry about what could've happened," Dusk said with a friendly smile.

"Right," Luna said, nodding and returning an amicable smile. "But you still saved me from that thing."

"And you saved me when you carried me out of the kitchen," Dusk said. She chuckled. "I guess that makes us even."

Luna found herself chuckling. "I guess so."

They both relished in the moment of levity, laughing at nothing. But the gravity of their situation returned, and Luna reached into her purse and handed Dusk her dagger.

"Just in case," Luna said as she took out her can of pepper spray.

Dusk nodded. "Let's find Thorn."

BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT!

Luna snatched her phone and answered the call. "Thorn!"

"Are you okay?" Thorn asked over the phone.

"We need to talk," Luna replied, thinking about the horrors and danger she'd have to inform her friend about. "Get to the lobby as soon as possible."

"I'm on my way," Thorn answered and the call ended.

"She's still alive," Luna sighed with both relief and exhaustion.

"Wicked," Dusk cheered. "Now let's go!"

The two exited the room and headed down the hallway.