Hiro glanced over to Hillary's bedroom door and let out a small sigh. Since the group had returned from the gym, Hillary had complained of a headache and went to bed. The others hadn't heard anything since.
"Hey Hiro!"
The elder Granger brother turned to look at his brother. "What Tyson?" he asked. Hiro sat down on the sofa, wondering what Daichi and Tyson were drooling over. Tyson glanced over his shoulder before pulling what looked like a menu in front of Hiro.
"What pizza do ya want? According to the leaflet, the pizza's here are to die for." Tyson informed. Hiro snatched the menu from Tyson and rolled his eyes. Trust Tyson and his stomach.
"Kenny. Could you check on Hillary for me please? See if she wants anything to eat." Hiro called, giving the genius a quick look before looking back at the pizzas. Kenny quickly nodded his head and headed over to Hillary's bedroom.
--
The door squeaked open and Kenny winced. He didn't really want to wake Hillary up so he decided against turning the light on. As the light from the main room filtered through, Kenny could just make out his bed which was untouched. "Hillary." He called.
There came a small muffled sound. Kenny scratched his arm. "I'm sorry if I woke you up. Hiro wants to know if you're alright." He informed. The genius waited a little while before Hillary replied.
"I'm okay Kenny. My head still hurts though." Hillary mumbled sleepily. Kenny licked his dry lips.
"So I take it you don't want anything to eat then." He added. A small no was heard. "Okay then. Get some rest Hillary." Kenny slowly closed the door and headed over to Hiro and his friends. "Hillary doesn't want anything. Her head still hurts." He informed.
"Thanks Kenny." Hiro responded before going silent. His mind whirled over Mr Dickinson's death. Who could have done that to a poor old man? He wondered.
--
"This is insane!"
The chief cook of The Sky-Line hotel stared at the group in front of her. Winnie Valentine was one of those who you could trust with anything. At the grand age of 69, most women her age would have retired. Winnie was not the type just to put on a pair of pink fuzzy slippers and waste her days. Instead she had applied for a job at the hotel no sooner had the advert gone in the paper.
"There's nothing insane about the order Jemma. I suppose everyone wanted to try your pizzas." Winnie chuckled. Jemma raised an eyebrow as if to mock the elder in front of her. She pointed to Nathan who seemed a little confused.
"Half of those pizza ideas are his." Jemma huffed. Nathan held up his hands as if to warn off any attack from his smaller team captain. Winnie sent a small glare to Jemma who backed off quickly.
"I don't care whose pizza ideas they are. Get the delivery done. Heaven knows we need to keep the moral of the bladers up after…"Winnie trailed off and shook her head. Nathan grabbed a small pile, reading the small list of hotel room numbers.
"I'll take this lot. On my way round, I'll check on Hiro and Hillary." He stated. May-lin nodded her head and grabbed her own pile. "Bega's hotel room would be on there, would it?" Nathan joked. May-lin flipped him off before heading over to the door of the kitchen.
Winnie tutted a little as she wiped her flour covered hands on her apron. "Go on, get your skates on." She ordered playfully. Elizabeta giggled a little as Jemma jetted off after May-lin.
"I think Jemma already has."
--
Bryan raised an eyebrow when the hotel door was knocked. It was Ian who bounded over to the door and yanked the door open. "About time! I'm starving!" Ian complained. Jemma pulled her headphones down to rest on her neck and glared a little at Ian.
"Sorry short-stuff but there was other orders before you." Jemma huffed and handed three pizza boxes over. Bryan snorted a little and pulled his lighter from his pocket. Jemma watched the pale haired Russian light his cigarette and took a long drag. "There are ashtrays for you to use. If I find ash on the carpets, I'm kicking your ass." Jemma hissed.
"Oh really now?" Bryan smirked. Jemma's glare deepened before looking at the other faces in the room.
"Enjoy your meal." Jemma paused and stared at Kai. "Hope you choke Hiwatari." She spat and skated off down the corridor. Tala whistled lowly to himself as Ian closed the door.
"She doesn't like you, does she?" Tala joked. Kai huffed from his corner. He hadn't even done anything to her, so why was she so hostel towards him?
--
May-lin skipped a song on her iPod as she made her way to the next room. Barthez Battalion were next on the list. May-lin paused as she listened hard to the song. A shiver ran up her spine. "Wounded Warsong. What a song to have on now." May-lin mumbled.
As she skipped the song, the Chinese blader heard someone run past her. May-lin spun round, almost dropping the pizza pile in her hand. She stopped her music, peering down the corridor. "Bluebell? Nath? Jem?" she called.
Silence passed.
"Guys? If it's you, this ain't funny!" May-lin yelled. May-lin clenched her left hand tightly to stop from shaking.
"Are you okay?"
May-lin jumped and spun round quickly to find Claude. "I'm-I'm fine. Are you from Barthez Battalion?" May-lin questioned. She smiled and let out a sigh of relief when Claude nodded his head.
--
Tyson had almost yanked the door from its hinges when Nathan knocked. The half-Japanese male jumped back in surprise when the last three pizza boxes were ripped from his hand. Nathan blinked before stepping into the room. "Hiro is it?"
Hiro looked up from the book he was reading and nodded his head. "How you feeling?" Nathan asked as he slowly closed the hotel door. Hiro closed his book and sighed a little. Where could he begin?
"A little shook up." He replied, giving Nathan a very short answer. The half-Japanese male merely nodded his head and looked over to the two bedroom doors. "Hillary's asleep." Hiro added.
"I gathered. However, I do still want to talk to her. She did walk in on a pretty terrible sight." Nathan muttered and headed towards the door. Hiro was quickly behind him.
"Oh really? How would you know what kind of impact that would have had on Hillary?" Hiro asked harshly. Nathan's hand hovered over the handle as his bit-chip glowed brightly in his pocket.
"I know. I've been through it myself." Nathan whispered and pushed the handle down. Hiro followed closely behind Nathan who stood in the dark room. "Hillary? I'm sorry to wake you but I need to ask you something. I'm going to turn the lights on so cover your eyes." Nathan called out. He turned to flick the lights on before looking back at Hillary's bed.
He gasped loudly and backed up into Hiro.
Blood ran over the side of the bed as Hillary lay naked on top of the covers. Her body was littered bruises and cuts. Two long cuts along her arms and legs were so deep that bone was seen within the bloody red pulp of her flesh. Nathan felt bile rise up in his throat and he fought the urge to throw up.
"Guys? What's wrong?" Daichi questioned as he reached the two horror-stricken males. Hiro pushed the younger male back. "Hey! What's wrong with Hillary?" Daichi yelled. Tyson and Kenny glanced at each other.
"It's not for your eyes Daichi." Hiro choked. Nathan hit the floor on all floors, retching dryly. His walkie-talkie crackled on the side.
"Flax to Chaos, come in Chaos Over."
Nathan didn't reach for the walkie-talkie as he retched again. It was another dry one and it was hurting his throat something terrible. Tyson ran past, gasping loudly at the sight of his friend. As he turned a message scrawled on the mirror caught his attention.
"Bet your glad you didn't turn the lights on, huh Kenny?"