Silent Gulch Chapter 5

Tucker stood trembling as he stared down at the corpse of the creature. He could feel the adrenaline still flowing though his veins as he took deep breaths to calm himself. His legs gave out from under him and he felt his back hit the cold metal of the kitchen doors. He slid down until he was sitting on the floor.

He couldn't believe what he had just done. He didn't even know that he could feel that kind of anger. One end of the pipe was dripping with blood and bits of the creature's brain. If it weren't for the creature getting back up, Tucker would have thrown the object away from him.

His attention shot to the other set of doors as he heard a creak. The main set of doors cracked open just slightly. Without a second thought, the teal soldier ran to the doors and threw them open. The hotel's lobby was just as dark and dreary as the dining room.

Tucker stumbled into the center of the lobby. He was in a sort of panicked daze as he moved. His gaze drifted over the off-white walls, dingy carpet, and faded paintings. His sight finally settled on the front doors of the hotel. He walked over to them and pulled on the doors. They would not budge, and he let out a sigh of frustration. He no longer really cared if his child was in the hotel; all he wanted by that point was to get out, but he was having no luck. He spotted a piece of paper folded up and wedged in between the door and wall.

Tucker picked up the note and unfolded it before reading it.

Dear Cletus,

I've locked up early tonight. When you're finished just get the spare key from the basement office.

The Foreman.

Tucker sighed once more. It looked like he would have to go to the basement if he wanted to get out. He pocketed the note and walked back to the center of the lobby. He looked around for some way to get to the basement, he finally spotting an elevator.

Tucker made his way to the elevator and tried to pull the door open, but it too was locked. "Do they ever not lock something?" Tucker asked the empty hotel.

He once more looked around the lobby for anything that could help him. He spotted the hotel's front desk and decided that was his best bet. He moved to the desk and started to look though the drawers. After a bit of searching he found a ring of keys in one of the drawers. He stood up, satisfied, and noticed a folded up piece of paper in one of the mail slots. He pulled out the paper and unfolded it. To his joy it was a map of the hotel.

He quickly pocketed the map before moving again. He made his way back to the elevator and tried three of the keys in the lock before the fourth key unlocked the door. He then opened the door, and after hooking the keys to his belt, he stepped onto the elevator. He didn't know if he would need the keys again, but it was better safe than sorry. He reached over and pressed the down button. The elevator jerked and started to rise up.

"No, no, I said down!" Tucker half-screamed in panic.

~Church~

Church sat on the pew, looking up at the woman who had spoken. She seemed to have come out of nowhere. There were no doors or entryways on the altar for her to have come out of. She wore a dress that looked like it came out of the 19th century. Her blond hair hung limply from her head and she was deathly pale.

"Who are you?" Church asked.

She smiled at him, and it sent shivers up his spine. "I am Danena," she said in a clear ringing voice. "You seem to be lost. What is your name?"

Church though over whether or not he should tell her anything, but he decided that he didn't really care anymore. "My name's Leonard Church. I am fucking lost. One moment I'm in the hellhole known as Blood Gulch and the next I'm in this whacked-out place." Church didn't bother to keep the anger from his voice. He frowned to himself. It figured that he would get stuck in a place like this with some odd woman.

"You seem very angry," Danena said, taking a step toward the soldier. "You must shed your anger if you wish to make it to paradise." She trained her eyes on him as she spoke.

"Paradise? What are you talking about?" Church asked. The woman was starting to sound crazy, although Church didn't expect anything less.

"When the time comes, all who believe will ascend to paradise," Danena said in the sort of voice a pastor would use while giving a sermon. "God in all his glory will appear on Earth and the faithful will be led to paradise." Her eyes seemed to drill into his head as she stared at him. "Do you believe?" she asked.

Church scowled at the woman and shook his head slowly. "I'm not a man of faith, lady. I don't believe in god or paradise. You're preaching to the wrong person." Church stood up from his seat.

"If you do not believe, then you will be left behind." Danena took a couple steps back away from Church.

"Good to hear. Who'd want to go to paradise if someone as creepy as you is going to be there?" Church shot back. Danena smiled at him, another smile that told him it wasn't innocent. She then turned and walked up to the alter, moving behind one of the tapestries handing on the wall. "Good riddance to crazy rubbish," he muttered.

Church was about to sit down when he heard a loud thud. A lump appeared behind the tapestry. Church watched in horror as a grotesque creature came out from behind it.

For a second Church wondered how such a large creature came out from behind that simple tapestry. It stood almost twice his height. The creature's face was part male and part female. In the normal place was the male's face with a female head perpendicular to the correct location. From where the man's eyes should have been, there protruded two arms that were connected so that the palms of the hands were facing each other. The creature's body was bulky, and from the elbow down the creature's arms were covered with large flesh clubs. It had two sets of legs. One that it stood on that were male and wearing boots and a pair of female legs on its back that were wearing high heels. Leather straps were tightly bound around the creature's face, arms, female legs, and the arms that were attached to its head. Church stared at the creature, speechless.

"Shit," he finally muttered as the creature came hurtling at him.