know what he is. But there’s others like him, and we have to get out of here before they … do something.”
Glen nodded. “You’re not making a whole lot of sense, you know.”
Amber ignored him, twisting the handle of Milo’s door. To her surprise, it opened, and she ran in. The room was empty. The bed hadn’t been slept in.
Amber’s fingers curled in her hair. “Did you see him?”
“See who?” asked Glen.
“Milo! Who else? Did you see him?”
“Since dinner? No. Did you?”
“I saw him heading in here, with her.”
“Her who?”
“The woman, Veronica.”
Glen looked dismayed. “She went off with Milo? Aw man. She was giving me the eye all evening.”
“She barely looked at you.”
“That’s called being coy.”
Amber brushed past him, ran back to her room. Glen tried coming in after her, but she pushed him out.
“I’m getting dressed,” she said. “Wait there. Tell me if you see anyone.”
She slammed the door, ripped off her pyjamas and pulled on her clothes. When she was done, she left the room and hurried down the stairs.
“Can you please tell me what’s going on?” Glen asked, right behind her.
Amber put a finger to her lips, and he scowled and shut up.
She crept through the hotel, noting for the first time how quiet it suddenly was, like it was holding its breath. There was no one at the front desk. She turned to share a look with Glen, but he was completely oblivious to how creepy it all was.
“Can I talk now?” he asked.
She hissed, and hit him, and he scowled again and rubbed his arm.
She led the way to the rear of the hotel. By now, even Glen had noticed how unnatural the silence was.
“Where is everyone?” he whispered.
Amber didn’t answer.
They got to the small door leading to the parking area in the courtyard. The few feeble lights outside did little to dispel the encroaching darkness, but Amber really had no choice. She counted to three, then lunged from the hotel. Nothing jumped out at her, thank God. She ran to the hedge and stopped, her feet kicking up a shower of little stones. Glen almost bumped into her.
“Oops, sorry,” he said. “What’s wrong? Why— Hey, where’s the car?”
“He’s gone,” Amber said softly.
Glen walked to the middle of the courtyard, like that would give him a vantage point from which to see the missing Charger. “Where? Where’s he gone? Do you think he has Veronica with him? We should have a rule in future. The I saw her first rule. Y’know, it would have been me, but I’m too much of a gentleman to make a move so soon.”
From overhead, a fluttering.
Amber looked up. The lights in the courtyard made the darkness above an impenetrable shroud of starless black.
She turned her head, following the fluttering as it moved from right to left. Then another, from in front to behind. More fluttering, getting closer and closer and then swooping up and away.
The fluttering not of feathers, or of wings, but of clothes.
“Glen,” Amber whispered.
Glen stood there with his hands on his hips. “Milo knew I liked her. It was obvious. Maybe it’s an Irish thing, but guys do not do that to each other. That is uncool.”
“Glen.”
“When he gets back, we’re going to have a talk. Man to man.”
“Glen, get inside,” Amber said, her voice flat.
From above, a giggle.
Glen looked round. “You hear that?”
“Get inside, Glen.”
Frowning, he watched her as she backed up to the door. The darkness was alive around them. On either side, a dreadful whispering, gleeful and mocking, while above, that fluttering. Always the fluttering.
Amber stepped backwards into the hotel, holding the door open for Glen as he came after her. He was frowning as he walked, kept turning his head. The darkness rippled above him. She saw shapes moving. The whispering got louder. Louder. There was laughter now – cruel and malicious laughter. Glen stopped looking around and fixed his eyes on Amber. He was terrified. His face trembled, like he was holding in a scream, like he was getting ready to bolt.
On either side of him, people were stepping from the shadows. An old man with white hair. A middle-aged woman with a pearl necklace. A young man with acne. More and more. They all wore identical smiles.
Then the shadows moved and something reached down from above and Amber grabbed Glen and yanked him inside, slammed the door and pressed her back to it.
Instant silence.
Except for Glen.
“Ohhhh my God! Holy crap! Would you look at my arms? See the goosebumps? What the hell was that? That was creepy! Oh yikes, y’know?”
He rubbed his arms and the back of his neck and laughed. “This place gets to you after a while, doesn’t it?”
Amber stared at him. “Did you not see them?”
“See who?”
“The people.”
“Where?”
“Out there! We were surrounded!”
“Uh, we were the only two out there, Amber …”
“They were about to grab you!”
“Who were?”
“The people! You heard them!”
“That was the wind. It was all creepy and spooky and scary and, y’know … The wind.”
“That was voices. That was people whispering and laughing.”
“It did sound like laughing.”
“And what about the people flying?”
“Flying? What?”
“They were going to grab you!”
Glen put both hands
