slowly exhaled. I hated it when he did that. “Tell me, am I the only one on this floor?”
“Correct. No one else is inside the perimeter,” he replied.
“And what about outside?”
“Deceased female, 141 pounds.”
“Does she have a name?”
“Margaret Smith.”
“No!” I wiped the blood from my chin and stared at my hands. Slowly it dawned on me that I was now standing without any pain. “Retrieve her body and go into lockdown.”
“Are you sure? The chamber cannot be unsealed for 48 hours.”
“Do it,” I said.
“Engaging. Lockdown commencing in 10…9…8…”
It felt as if the entire floor was about to launch into the sky. The lights flickered and walls rumbled. I was about to go nuclear on their sorry asses.
“7…6…5…4…”
I glanced at the monitors and noticed the soldiers looking around. They, too, could hear the change in the hotel. “Don’t worry. You’ll see me soon enough,” I promised.
“3…2…1…Lockdown…”
Suddenly the ceiling above shifted. Plates of reinforced steel slid over top of it, sealing it shut. Subtle shifts echoed through the chamber as the principle walls were bolstered and locked down. The floor beneath me was the last to be secured, cutting off all connection to the outside world.
“Lockdown complete,” the computer reassured me.
I stepped into the bathroom and stared at my pale face and crimson hair. My eyes were scorching, as if on fire. I washed the blood from my mouth, and laid down on one of the beds. I was in the box now. Nothing could get in or out.
“Bittersweet Symphony. The Verve,” I murmured.
“Autoloop?” the computer asked.
“Yes.” The angelic sound of violins echoed through the box, carrying me off to sleep as I pondered the cruel irony of this fading world.
♦ ♦ ♦
Abruptly I woke, as if torn from a dream. “How long have I been asleep?” I asked.
“Two hours, twenty-six minutes,” the computer replied. “Would you like a supplement?”
“A supplement? What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean, Valis.”
The computer’s response caught me off guard. Valis? What the hell was he talking about?
“I examined your knee while you were asleep. No structural damage detected. I also performed surgery on your ear. It looks like you have already healed.”
“How did you do that?” I ran my fingers over my ear.
“I have my ways.”
I got up and walked out of the bedroom. The floor was huge, over 4,000 square feet in all. Two master bedrooms were stationed at opposite ends of the hall, each with their own bathrooms and walk-in closets. A small office was attached to the control room, which connected to the server room, wiring closets and a workshop with additional storage. The kitchen hosted his and her pantries, a walk-in refrigerator and a deep freeze. There was also an abbreviated fitness center with a built-in Jacuzzi, dining hall, game room, small library, lab, an additional kitchenette and even a bar. Then there was the most disturbing room of all: a funeral parlor with three black coffins stacked vertically.
Whoever had designed this place knew of the impending holocaust and planned for mankind’s eventual demise. It was hardly a panic room, though; it was a military-grade piece of real estate sunk into the heart of the hotel to observe and experiment on the general public as one saw fit. There was enough food here to last years, and considering how little I ate, perhaps decades. The steel coffin of dreams had its own generator with multiple emergency backup units. As far as I could tell, I was the only one who had ever used it, and its supplies were filled to the brim.
I walked into the control room and sat behind one of the workstations. The word ‘Activated’ flashed on the monitor. “What’s been activated?” I asked.
“You have, Valis,” the computer replied.
The joke was beginning to wear thin. “Show me the lobby.”
“Please enter your passcode.”
Fuck. It never
“Correct. No one else is inside the perimeter,” he replied.
“And what about outside?”
“Deceased female, 141 pounds.”
“Does she have a name?”
“Margaret Smith.”
“No!” I wiped the blood from my chin and stared at my hands. Slowly it dawned on me that I was now standing without any pain. “Retrieve her body and go into lockdown.”
“Are you sure? The chamber cannot be unsealed for 48 hours.”
“Do it,” I said.
“Engaging. Lockdown commencing in 10…9…8…”
It felt as if the entire floor was about to launch into the sky. The lights flickered and walls rumbled. I was about to go nuclear on their sorry asses.
“7…6…5…4…”
I glanced at the monitors and noticed the soldiers looking around. They, too, could hear the change in the hotel. “Don’t worry. You’ll see me soon enough,” I promised.
“3…2…1…Lockdown…”
Suddenly the ceiling above shifted. Plates of reinforced steel slid over top of it, sealing it shut. Subtle shifts echoed through the chamber as the principle walls were bolstered and locked down. The floor beneath me was the last to be secured, cutting off all connection to the outside world.
“Lockdown complete,” the computer reassured me.
I stepped into the bathroom and stared at my pale face and crimson hair. My eyes were scorching, as if on fire. I washed the blood from my mouth, and laid down on one of the beds. I was in the box now. Nothing could get in or out.
“Bittersweet Symphony. The Verve,” I murmured.
“Autoloop?” the computer asked.
“Yes.” The angelic sound of violins echoed through the box, carrying me off to sleep as I pondered the cruel irony of this fading world.
♦ ♦ ♦
Abruptly I woke, as if torn from a dream. “How long have I been asleep?” I asked.
“Two hours, twenty-six minutes,” the computer replied. “Would you like a supplement?”
“A supplement? What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean, Valis.”
The computer’s response caught me off guard. Valis? What the hell was he talking about?
“I examined your knee while you were asleep. No structural damage detected. I also performed surgery on your ear. It looks like you have already healed.”
“How did you do that?” I ran my fingers over my ear.
“I have my ways.”
I got up and walked out of the bedroom. The floor was huge, over 4,000 square feet in all. Two master bedrooms were stationed at opposite ends of the hall, each with their own bathrooms and walk-in closets. A small office was attached to the control room, which connected to the server room, wiring closets and a workshop with additional storage. The kitchen hosted his and her pantries, a walk-in refrigerator and a deep freeze. There was also an abbreviated fitness center with a built-in Jacuzzi, dining hall, game room, small library, lab, an additional kitchenette and even a bar. Then there was the most disturbing room of all: a funeral parlor with three black coffins stacked vertically.
Whoever had designed this place knew of the impending holocaust and planned for mankind’s eventual demise. It was hardly a panic room, though; it was a military-grade piece of real estate sunk into the heart of the hotel to observe and experiment on the general public as one saw fit. There was enough food here to last years, and considering how little I ate, perhaps decades. The steel coffin of dreams had its own generator with multiple emergency backup units. As far as I could tell, I was the only one who had ever used it, and its supplies were filled to the brim.
I walked into the control room and sat behind one of the workstations. The word ‘Activated’ flashed on the monitor. “What’s been activated?” I asked.
“You have, Valis,” the computer replied.
The joke was beginning to wear thin. “Show me the lobby.”
“Please enter your passcode.”
Fuck. It never
Similar Books
