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“Are we safe?”

“Isn’t this the SOS Hotel?”

“I want a refund!”

“There’s a gremlin in my closet.”

“Please, everyone.” I raised my voice “Return to your rooms, everything’s fine now, there’s no need to be alarmed.”

The crowd had grown from a few people to over twenty, and their voices had grown too, getting louder and louder.

“It’s alright, stay calm. This is all part of the Halloween festivities⁠—”

“This is unacceptable.”

“Just allow me a minute to explain⁠—”

“You’re a terrible manager.”

“What are you going to do about this?”

“How are you going to fix it?”

“How will you keep us safe if you can’t keep the men you love safe?”

“What?”

Their faces blurred together, turning red with anger. Their eyes widened, and kept on widening, until those angry eyes filled their faces, getting bigger, swelling like balloons.

A single, warped, wet-sounding voice grumbled, “You shouldn’t be here, you can’t do this, you should run away . . . run away like you always do . . .”

The faces and heads and eyes and mouths had merged together, like putty. Squished and pushed into a single creature, with multiple arms and legs. Teeth rippled in its contorted mouth and the accusations kept coming.

“Terrible manager! Can’t keep us safe! Run away! Failure!”

Bigger and bigger it grew, until the creature filled the foyer, arms rippling like tentacles while its face was made of a hundred eyes and mouths, all coming together as one.

I stared, frozen behind the desk. My feet wouldn’t move. I couldn’t run. My heart thumped, pushing against the back of my ribs. Blood rushed in my ears, pounding through me. Every accusation landed like a hammer blow, crushing my heart and soul. It was right.

Why was I doing this?

Why had I thought I could open a hotel and hide inside it? Why had I dragged Zee into this with me, when I couldn’t keep him safe? Why had I kept Victor, when he was better off without me?

“Run away!” the monster boomed, rattling the walls, floor, and the desk I stood behind. “Run away, Adam Vex. It’s all you’re good for!”

It brought its countless hands up, clasped them together in fists, and slammed them down, shattering the front desk. Fragments rained.

I staggered backward and fell against the wall.

The foyer, the hotel, everything around me faded into a blur. All that was left was me, my pounding heart, and the gore-like monster about to crush me into the hotel foundations.

Was it really going to end like this?

CHAPTER 7

It towered over me. A monster made of complaining guests. Enormous and hideous and how could I stop it, how could I protect everyone when I couldn’t protect myself?

“We are the best hotel.”