“…they are mine….they are mine….they are mine….they are mine….”
“What the fuck?” Peterson said. The rocking of the car increased.
Kelly closed her eyes, praying for the assault on the car to stop. The radio volume increased, lowered, and then increased again, enough so the all three put their hands over their ears.
“Mine….mine….mine….mine….THEY ARE MINE!!!”
Suddenly everything stopped. Then the door next to Feuerstein opened and he was helped from the car. Peterson slid over and followed the CEO. Then Kelly slapped the laptop from her lap and got out as fast as she could. All three stood shaking and looking at the now normal limousine.
“Why the hell didn’t you unlock the fucking doors?” Peterson advanced on the driver, who was looking around as if he were lost.
“What? I just did.”
All three of them looked at the driver as if he had lost his mind.
“Was there a problem?” the driver asked, noticing the terror in their faces.
It was Kelly who started laughing first. The CEO turned and started for the elevator. Peterson watched them both as if they had truly lost their minds.
“What the fuck are you laughing about?” he asked as Kelly reached into the car to gather her things.
“I’m laughing at the fucking look on your face.” Kelly stepped up to Peterson, looking at him closely. “Suddenly just about anything is possible, isn’t it?”
“Why, because we have a bad driver and a malfunctioning car? That just falls in line with every other aspect of this fucked up special.” Peterson reached into the limo for the crystal cut decanter of whiskey and uncorked it.
“Keep thinking that way, Lionel, but you know and I know that house is building power. It’s starting to reach out to everyone involved.”
Peterson watched Kelly hurry to catch up with the old man. He took a quick swallow of the whiskey, and then he looked over at the driver, who still looked totally lost and confused. Peterson offered him the bottle. The driver looked taken aback, but then he accepted the offer.
“Yeah, what the fuck’s the difference? You may be working here long after my ass is fired.”
Peterson accepted the bottle back from the driver and took another long pull from the crystal decanter. Then he kicked the limousine, startling the man next to him.
“Yeah, they may be yours, you motherfucker, but this,” he splashed whiskey onto the limo, and then showed off the decanter, “is mine… MINE!”
Jason Sanborn, George Cordero and John Lonetree stood at the door and watched Leonard Sickles pace back and forth in his long white boxer shorts and t-shirt. His baseball cap was turned sideways on his head.
“You woke me up to tell me Professor Gabe wants me to break into state death records and the Lindemann historical society? I thought you dudes were going out into the world to get this information tomorrow. What do you need me for?”
“John thinks the house is trying to separate us and attack us piecemeal,” Jason said. He placed his pipe in his mouth and then rolled his eyes at Lonetree.
Leonard stopped in his tracks and turned to the three men at the door.
“What do you mean, attack? Are you serious?”
“Look, kid, Gabriel wants you to do this; so can you do it and still complete your other electronic work, or not?” Lonetree said.
The look on Leonard’s face changed. He turned and grabbed a robe. They had been joined by Jenny Tilden, who stood next to George Cordero.
“Sorry, I didn’t feel like being alone in my room,” she said. She looked much better than she had earlier in the evening.
“I’m sure we all quite understand, my dear,” Sanborn offered. He wished he could light his pipe.
“Damn man, doesn’t anyone sleep around here?” Leonard asked as he came back to the door, tying off the hotel bathrobe. “Yeah, I can do both jobs,” he said. “I can farm out the computer theft through a friend of mine in LA. But if he gets caught, it’s going to cost someone a lot of money.”
“Ten thousand dollars for the information we need,” Sanborn said, sucking on his empty pipe.
“Excuse me, but can we discuss this inside the room? It’s getting cold out here,” Jennifer said, crossing her thin arms over her chest. At the moment, the hallway lights and the room lights started flickering.
“She’s right. Did someone leave open a window or something?” Sanborn looked around the empty hallway.
Lonetree and Leonard saw it first — a large transparent shadow that closed in behind Jenny and Sanborn. It seemed to rise up through the expensive carpet. John tried to react as the hallway lights dimmed, but he and the other men were pushed forward into the room and the door slammed, closing them inside. Whatever it was had completely sealed them off from Jennifer, who was still outside in the hallway. John tried desperately to disentangle himself from the three other men. Leonard was on the bottom of the fallen pile, screaming for everyone to get off.
Outside Jennifer screamed and a loud thump smashed into the closed door. Then the door rattled as Jenny tried to turn the handle. She started pounding and slapping at the wood.
“Get off. It’s out there with her!” Lonetree screamed. He literally lifted Cordero and Sanborn off of him and dashed for the door on his hands and knees. The room was warm, but when John touched the wooden door he felt the extreme cold emanating from the hallway. Jenny was crying and still slapping her hand against the door. Then she screamed again and the pounding and slapping stopped.
“What the fuck is happening?” Leonard shouted. He finally gained his feet and ran for the door to help Lonetree.
John managed to pull the door partway open, but whatever was on the far side pulled it closed again. Leonard threw his own minimal weight into the battle and this time the door opened a foot. A large, black hand made of mist reached inside and pulled the door closed with a hard slam. Both men screamed and fell back, wide-eyed.
“Goddamn it, help us!” Lonetree shouted to Cordero and Sanborn.
Outside they heard Jennifer scream and then heard a choking sound. The men grabbed for the door again.
“No, no, no…” John was saying over and over as they cracked the door once more. This time, with all of their strength, they had it almost all the way open. None dared to remove their hands while they had the advantage. A flood of freezing air rushed through the opening.
“Jenny, can you get inside?” John yelled.
Jennifer Tilden’s arm snaked in through the doorway. Leonard freed one of his hands and grabbed for it. He was slapped back by an invisible force that knocked him against the bed, and the small black man somersaulted against the wall. George watched, stunned, but he quickly recovered and took Leonard’s place. He reached out and pulled as hard as he could. He was hit by an electrical discharge that made his eyes widen and his body shake, but his strength had proved the difference. Jennifer tumbled through the opening and a moment later the men lost control of the door. It slammed shut and bodies went flying. As Jennifer rolled over, holding her throat, she saw the door frost over. It started bending inward, cracking the material as the thing on the other side pushed.
“Jesus!” John stood and slammed his large body against the bulging door. Once his weight seemed to be doing the job, the room started to warm up. Just as they thought their visitor was done, ten loud blows sounded against the wood of the door. The blows were struck so hard that John Lonetree’s head was thrust forward with every strike. Then the room fell silent and the lights stopped flickering.