Chase felt his legs turn to concrete, the stench of the building was replaced by the smell of the forest, thoughts gripped with fear moved forward. He thought he would leave the door open and if there was an animal inside, it would be able to get out and he would lock their room.
He shivered, the wet clothes were taking the warmth and energy out of him, he returned to the reception desk and picked up his backpack... then he heard a long, drawn out growl from above... and he knew it wasn't a storm.
The growl was wet, animalistic, and at the end it seemed impatient, as if whatever was making it was irritated by the waiting.
It illuminated the stairs, rain pounded on the windowsills and lightning illuminated the sky, leaving an echo, the growl was not repeated.
He took a deep breath, adrenaline driving away the cold,
Seemed him , right?
He carefully climbed the stairs, shining his flashlight so as to have as much time as possible to react, he considered shouting to Zuma to close the door, but after thinking about it, it could cause more harm than good.
The bar room was dark, the shadows from the columns seemed too long, and there were flashes of lightning.
Chase quickly went to the second floor, illuminating the walls and ceiling, there was no one or anything there, he walked to the open door of the room, Zuma was still there, lying naked on the bed, covered with a blanket.
- It stinks... you could have thrown your socks and shoes outside. he said.
- Throw it away, I don't have the strength.
- How's the leg?
- I'm dying of cold, but it's not bad because it doesn't hurt that much.
- You won't eat anything? It will be 10 hours since the last time
- No. I feel like puking more, probably because of the rain and my leg.
Chase walked over to the closet, almost all the clothes hooks were occupied by Zuma's clothes, the water had already formed puddles on the floor of the furniture, he shook his head, hung his jacket on the door and sat down on the chair to take off his shoes, he wondered if she had also heard the grunt and was waiting for him to ask , because if he doesn't ask, it means he misheard.
- Did you hear that?
- What? she asked
- It's a growling noise, as if there was an animal in the building.
Zuma stood up and threw off the blanket, it turned out, to Chase's disappointment, that she was still wearing her underwear.
- No, I didn't hear that.
Chase relaxed and looked at her ankle, it was swollen, purple and dripping with pus from abrasions.
- Fuck, it looks bad... he said... Let's hope it doesn't get infected. It looks like you ripped the skin off it.
Zuma reached into her backpack and took out antibacterial gel and applied it to her ankle, she hissed in pain.
- It looks bad, but we'll see tomorrow. If I've come here, it can't be bad. You can't walk with a broken leg, can you?
Chase went out into the corridor one last time and checked if anyone was lurking in the corridor, he looked at door 7, the key was missing at the reception desk, he walked up and knocked loudly three times.
- Is anyone there? In room number seven. He said in English
- There's probably no one there.
Chase jumped at Zuma's voice, tightened the handle and opened the door, the room was a reflection of their room, the shutters were open, there was no doubt someone was in the room, the beds were made and there were two glasses and bottles of water on the dresser, there was a suitcase on wheels under the wall.
- Was there anything there? Zuma asked when he returned to the room
- Someone was definitely there.
- They're probably stuck in the mountains and want to wait out the storm.
- I doubt it. There was a suitcase on wheels, you don't take them to the mountains.
- It's probably the owners of the car in the parking lot. When they were walking in the car, they took the suitcase, simple as that. Now go to sleep
Chase locked the door, Zuma may not have heard the grunt but he didn't want to risk it.
Chase opened his eyes and the first thing he felt was pain in his feet and stiff muscles, which reminded him that he was in the mountains.
The rainoutside had eased to a drizzle
He didn't know why he woke up, he felt a sour smell, it reminded him of dirty horses in the stable. There was a growl from the door, the heart sped up, the growl repeated but this time it was accompanied by a sound as if someone had hit the boards with a hammer, the door groaned under the weight, bent, and the handle fell as if someone had clumsily tried to press it, the wood, although thick and heavy, groaned.
Stomach acid rose in his throat and he looked at the wardrobe, wondering if he would be able to move it to block the entrance. He knew there was a large animal there, definitely not a human, suddenly he heard Zuma's snoring stop, he looked at her to see that she was looking at him with blurry eyes
He put a finger to his lips, silently commanding silence, the door shook with the impact. Neither of them knew how strong the bear was, but it was safe to assume that with enough determination, it would break down the door. It was in their best interest not to motivate him with noise
Chase pointed to the closet and then to the door, Zuma nodded, they had a plan for the worst, but they expected the animal to go away, it couldn't smell the meat, everything they had was in cans, the likelihood of it smelling anything was slim.
They waited for a full minute, the bear landed on all fours, judging by the heavy sound behind the door, then it took off running, destroying the carpet, they felt the floor shaking, the animal ran downstairs and the sound stopped
- I should take the bear spray out of my backpack. Zuma said
- It's good that we were quiet... Chase said... otherwise he would have kicked down that door and torn us apart
Chase got up and put on his almost dry shirt, he went to the window and opened it, all he saw outside was dead trees, a few had broken and were leaning against the building
- It's almost funny... he said... we didn't even hear any bears for two weeks, and when we find the hotel, a bear literally knocks on our door. What are the chances of this happening?
- It's hard to say, but you yourself said that Romania is full of bears, there are so many of them that the authorities issued a permit to shoot 1,500 bears because they attacked people.
- Maybe it's not a bear
- Why? Moose?
- Maybe a fat Romanian. Did you smell that stench? As if someone was mixing vinegar with pickles
- I felt it. No, people don't stink like that. I used to work in a warehouse, so I know what I'm talking about. These guys worked there, weighing 150 kilos each, eat onions, potatoes and garlic, drinking only beer and cheap wines. It wasn't the smell of a human being, you know. It was an animal
- I know, I'm joking. I also felt it at the reception. Chase told her about the clump of fur on the stairs
- Bears remember such places... she said... It's probably his place when he's too far from the cave, a base.
- Probably so. How's your leg?
- It hurts like hell.
- What we do?
- Let's eat something and then we'll think about it
They ate some canned food and cooked pasta on a camping stove. Zuma handed him a can of bear spray, and only then did they decide to go out into the corridor, leaving their backpacks on the beds, before they set off, they wanted to make sure that their overnight guest wasn't lurking somewhere.
- Open it and go first... she said... because my leg hurts.
- Remember that this gas creates a cloud four meters high and is so strong that it can stop a person's heart.
- Understand
They hadn't heard anything unusual since the bear had run downstairs and presumably left the hotel, but they felt a lump in their throats.
Chase opened the door and looked out into the hallway, there was no one or anything there.
- Fuck, look at the floor. Zuma said
Chase looked down to see the torn carpet and old boards, claw marks cutting through the black wood and in two places there were broken splinters as big as pencils, he tried to open the door wide but something was blocking it, he pushed against it and heard a crash, he went out into the hall.
- You have to see this. Zuma said, leaning over something against the wall, her voice a mix of fascination and disgust
He approached and saw a large piece of fur with pink and yellow tissue underneath, black blood leaking from the center of the meat ball.
- What is this anyway?
- It must have been the bear who left it. do you feel how it stinks? It's the same smell that was at the reception. Is this even meat?
- Yes, it looks like it just fell off the body. But it is strangely smooth, like a puffball. How's the leg?
- It hurts, but it's better. Let's check the rooms and get out of here.
- Ok, at least let's check the car first, but be careful, this beast may be lurking somewhere.
- Worse for him... Zuma shook the can... nothing can withstand such a dose of gas. It will run away screaming