We Are The Hunted (Book 1): We Are The Hunted

by Matlin, Perry T.

  “Why’d you pick peach?” he asks, when I make a face again. I just shake my head, not knowing how to answer. Thomas would have picked a much better choice. He drinks more than any of us. I still wonder, after all these years how Ryan and Thomas get along. They’re so different.

  I take another turn, landing on a triple shot space. By the end of my turn, the vodka doesn’t taste so bad, or at least I don’t notice it. I find myself looking at Thomas as we play. I never liked him too much, but as he’s gotten older, I’ve found him less annoying.

  I wonder what life will be like with them rooming together next year. Ryan going to nursing school, Thomas going to college to be a nutritionist. He’s always been kind of a health freak. I remember when he convinced Ryan to go on a cleanse with him. Ryan almost fainted due to it. Ryan has always helped reign him in. I wonder if that will continue in college.

  We just continue to play the game, until I've had just enough. I stand up, and almost fall back to the floor. The room isn't very steady. I drunkenly stumble over to the door. When I finally have myself upright, I turn back to the room, and bid them all goodnight.

  Drew is still drinking, but everyone else looks to be done. Drew is always the life of the party. I smile, before turning away.

  Emily follows me out, she didn't drink anywhere near as much as I did, so she helps me out the door. I go to turn right to the room on the other side but remember we're the left room. I lean against the wall beside the wrong door, for a moment, but jump away in fright as someone bangs roughly on the other side of the door. Emily laughs at my terror, before pulling me away from the room. I can still hear the tenant banging on the door, in my drunken state I picture a Genie pounding on the inside of their lamp, trying to free himself, I laugh aloud, causing Emily to look at me like a crazy person. We finally make it back to the room, and I stumble over to the bathroom, and decide to sit down to pee, as to not fall down. I struggle to my feet, and make my way to the bed, and collapse onto it, asleep before I even hit the pillow, not knowing that my life is about to change forever.

  TWO

  I find myself nearing consciousness. Avoiding the inevitable moment, when I open my eyes and feel the effects of all the vodka, I just lie there. I'm lying as still as a statue, my eyes clenched together tightly. I need to avoid the light for a few more seconds. I need to stay here in this moment, the moment before I remember all the pain. I can already feel the massive headache, before remembering why it’s there. I cannot believe that I drank that much last night. We were supposed to be coming down for a college tour, and instead I got our entire group drunk off their asses. If I’m being honest with myself, I’ve been drinking a lot in the last few months. I drink just enough to forget why I needed to drink in the first place. His face flashes in my mind. I push it away. We're all going to be so miserable today though. I smile guiltily, making sure to keep my eyes tightly shut. Maybe, if I can keep my eyes shut; then I can avoid the horrible feeling of a vodka hangover. That's when my alarm begins to go off. I clap my hands to my face. I reach over, and blindly turn the alarm off, and then decide that my minute of procrastinating is finally over. It was my decision to drink, and now I need to face the consequences. I need to face my life, my mistakes. I wrecked it all, I chose to drink, I chose to stay heartbroken, to let my depression fester. I made that choice. He ended it, but I chose to not move on. I chose to not even try.

  I open my eyes and feel the hangover immediately. Rolling onto my side, I see that Emily is still sleeping. I gently shake her, until she opens her eyes groggily. Looking around, she reaches for her phone. We lay there for a few minutes, just scrolling through our newsfeeds, until there is a knock on the door. I jump up, and run over to the door to let Ryan and Thomas in. Thomas, and Ryan cross the room, and sit down on the sofa in the corner of our room. I notice that Thomas doesn’t look like crap. Nobody looks as bad As I feel, as bad as I must look.

  "Let's go down to the pool, until Drew, and Riley wake up" Ryan offers, and I look over at Emily. She is now making herself a cup of coffee. She nods her approval, so I dash over to my suitcase, and grab my swim shorts out. I tell them I'll be right out, before disappearing into the bathroom. I quickly change into my swim shorts. I move to the mirror then. I grip the sides of the hotel sink. My eyes look sad. I can see how pale my face looks.

  I know everyone has been noticing my attitude. Emily especially. She’s my best friend, so she notices everything. I’ve been spiraling ever since Paul and I broke up. Ever since he changed his mind. I’ve been taking it so hard too. I know I’m the reason he’s gone. I know he got freaked out. I know it’s all my fault, but it doesn’t make it easier.

  I feel myself shaking. I feel my wounds reopening. I should never have thought about him, about us. We had such a beautiful story, such a wonderful thing. Why did I have to ruin everything? I knew it was too good to be true, but then I remember that I made it so. It wasn’t too good to be true, until I ruined his image of me. I acted like a total psycho over a rumor, and I did things I’ll never forgive myself for. I push the trail of tears away, washing my face hastily. I turn to join the others back in the room.

  Stopping at the door, I pull my phone out. I immediately open my Instagram. Scrolling, I find his profile quickly. I somehow avoided getting blocked on here. I snoop on his page. I know one day; I’ll see someone else there. Someone where I used to be. The thought causes my hands to shake.

  Emily is sitting up in the bed, her hair all over the place. I smile, as I watch her take a deep drink from her steaming coffee cup. She has her usual Kool-Aid shirt, and plaid pajama pants on. Her face is glued to the screen of her phone, as usual. I roll my eyes quickly, before crossing the room to stand by the door.

  Thomas is leaning against the door. His plaid shirt reminds me of a frat boy. I resist the urge to laugh out loud at his style. I still find it weird that Ryan gets along with someone with that personality.

  Ryan is sitting on the floor, bent over his laptop contently. I wonder what he's doing. I'm anxious to swim. They seem to get the hint because they follow suit, and head to the door with me. They must have been expecting me to take longer than I did.

  Together, the four of us, head down. I think it's too early for the lobby to be open, so we head to the pool, using the outside path. Within a few minutes we are standing on the edge of the large, heavenly looking pool.

  "You going in first?" Thomas asks me. I look over at him, before leaping right into the deep end. I've always been a pretty big water lover. I feel the cold water all around me, as I sink to the bottom. Sitting there peacefully for a few moments, I eventually decide to kick off the bottom of the pool. I come up for air and look around. Everyone is still dry, and none of them have made any moves to get into the magically amazing water.

  "None of you are getting in?" I demand, and they all make low voiced, half-hearted excuses.

  I swim around the pool, coming up to the edge to talk to Emily.

  “What are you doing?” I ask her, her face never leaving the screen of her phone.

  “Just trying to see if my lesson plan was approved. The district has been really strict on what I can teach lately” she explains. I kick off the wall, propelling myself backward a bit.

  “You really need to teach at a better school Em. You’ve had nothing but drama since you started there” I tell her. When she doesn’t answer again, I swim to the middle of the pool. I kick my feet, coming to a stop at the other side of the pool.

  “…was going to tell you later. It’s not going to change anything” Thomas says, just as I come to a stop before him. Ryan is sitting on a pool chair, his back turned to me.

  “We were supposed to be roommates, but now we aren’t even going to the same college?” Ryan says, his voice sounds pained, a little anxious. I sit there, unnoticed by both of them.

  “I didn’t say no for sure, but they don’t have a nutrition program here. I don’t want to sacrifice my program for a college” he explains. Ryan’s shoulders
sag slightly. I go to kick off the wall again, when Thomas speaks again.

  “Ry, we can make it work. I’m not going to leave you hanging. What do you…” he says, but I swim away from the conversation, before he can finish.

  “Did they approve it?” I ask, as I rest my arms on the edge of the pool. Emily looks up, startled. She smiles at me. Her red hair still messy from sleeping.

  “No word yet. Their website is actually dead for some reason” she says, her feet kicking aimlessly.

  “What are you looking at now? Get in the pool” I demand, my lips outing out. She smiles at me. She knows I wasn’t being serious.

  “My sister sent out her wedding invitations, but of course, I wasn’t invited because go figure” she says, biting her lip. She ignores the second part of my question. I know that must hurt her. She and her sister used to be so close, but their beliefs have divided them. Hannah is the very definition of homophobic, which hasn’t helped their relationship.

  “I’m sorry Em. You deserve better than that” I say, my voice sad. I feel like it’s my fault. Their fallout started, when Hannah found out she was friends with me. Emily defended me and called her on her hatred. Hannah told her we were both going to hell. The conversation seems to be over again, so I swim into the deep end again.

  I begin to exercise my muscles, while everyone else continues their side conversations. After about an hour, I decide it's about time to get out of the water. I take one last lap around, before swimming to the ladder. I grip the handholds, and then thrust myself beneath the surface again. I’m hit with a memory so strong that I can smell him. We’re on the side of the pool. We’re fully clothed. He picks me up bridal style and throws me into the pool. I come up for air and try to climb up the ladder, but much like now; I’m thrust beneath the surface playfully. I have the urge to stay here. To let the water claim me. To let my breath go, and close my eyes. To let everything fade into nothingness. I shove the horrid thoughts away, before climbing from the pool. If only that had been my last memory of him.

  I think it’s time to dry off and go wake my sister up. We need to get to the college a bit early, so that we don't get caught up in the traffic. I head over to the cabinet on the edge of the deck, and pull out a thick, soft towel. Wrapping it tightly around me, I pretend it’s him. I imagine his arms wrapped around me instead. I head over to the others. Emily is just now getting to her feet, so I decide to go through the lobby, so we can scope out the continental breakfast selection.

  I push the door open, and head right inside. Once again, the lobby is empty, and there is nobody at the front desk. This is so unprofessional. I haven't seen another soul the entire time I've been here. I walk over to the front desk and see with growing unease that my cash is still lying on the counter. I look around for a sign of any movement. Pool water is dripping onto the floor. Coming up empty, I look at Emily. She has the same emotion in her eyes that I have in my stomach. Where the hell are these people? Leaving the lobby behind, we head to the indoor stairwell because it's closer from this room. Opening the door, we head into what looks like a laundry room, that runs parallel to the stairwell. Opening another door, I step into the stairwell, but two feet in, I'm stopped in my tracks. The first thing that hits me is the smell. It's the smell of death, the smell of rotting flesh, and rotting organs.

  “What the hell man?” Thomas says, his voice cutting the silence like a knife.

  The second thing that stops me are the two bodies lying at my feet. I look down at them shakily, before taking a step back. Two men are lying on the concrete floor. Their bodies look bloated, but there are chunks missing, lie they were some meal for an animal. I turn to the others and see the same terror in their eyes. I back out of the stairwell, before reaching down for my phone. I'm just about to dial 911, when something moves behind me. I jump back with fright, screaming in terror as I turn around to come face to face, with a short Mexican woman, and a tall white man. I see after a moment, that they're just normal people. Then I realize that those normal people could be the killers of these two bodies lying dead in the stairwell. The short woman is in a maid’s outfit, her black hair all around her messily. She looks like she’s seen a ghost. The man is older, tall, and has a look of professionalism about him.

  "The phones aren't much help. 911 is apparently busy" the man says. I look at him, and almost laugh. How can 911 be busy? Is that even a thing? I roll my eyes, before continuing to call them. I wait for the phone to start ringing, when the busy signal comes through.

  "We need to get out of here, before it comes back. I'm damn sure not looking to meet the same fate as them" the man says, and I turn to look at him questioningly. What is he even talking about?

  "Before what comes back?" I ask. He turns to me, and I can hear the fear, the disgust in his voice.

  "That thing, it looked like a man, but it couldn't have been. The look in the thing's eyes. It was just so... horrible.” he explains, and I'm still so confused. That's when the shorter woman pipes up to explain her side of things.

  "It was; it was a man, but it did not speak. It was growling. I was so scared, until Jonathan came around. We managed to escape the thing, but I'm just so scared that it's going to come back to get us. I don't want to die" she says. Tears are rolling down her trembling face. Her eyes are pained. She is terrified. I notice than her Mexican-Spanish accent is quite thick.

  I stand there in the hall, with these two strangers. They're going on and on about some man beast that killed the two people I just found. They're terrified. Something tells me the fear is genuine. I take a step back though. They could be dangerous.

  "Have any of you seen the managers of this place? I left money on the counter yesterday, and it's still there" I explain to them, wondering if I should've mentioned the money at all.

  "They’re in there" she says, her accent taking over once more. I look back to where she's pointing. She is pointing directly at the door that I found the bodies in. I take a step back, when I realize that the managers of the hotel are lying dead in the stairwell.

  "What are we going to do then?" I demand, and they all look at me curiously. That's when I realize that we need to go up and warn Riley about the thing. This monster could be back at any moment. Her and Drew know nothing about it. What do we do with these strangers though?

  "Why don't we head up to our rooms and lock ourselves inside until the police can get here to contain the situation?" the man says, and I look at him with doubt in my eyes.

  "Oh, and just wait for him to kick down the door, and kill us? Yep, that's a brilliant idea" I say, my voice strong with sarcasm. He looks at me with distaste.

  “Also, we know nothing about you guys. You could be murderers for all we know” I say, my voice rising a little. Emily gasps, slapping my arm lightly.

  "Let's go warn Riley, and then maybe we can just get out of here, before anything can happen" Emily suggests, and I smile at her. The smile feels wrong on my face, but I can’t allow guilt to take control now. I need to have my wits about me. There is a murderer wandering the area.

  "Can we come with you?" the woman asks, and I see the pleading look in her eyes. I close my eyes, praying for patience. Should we leave them behind? Will they get us killed?

  "I don’t even know you, so why should we trust you?” I tell her. Her face falls. I feel my resolve faltering. Can we just leave someone behind to die?

  “My name is Kerry. I work here. I’m no harm to you sir. This is Jonathan, he is a guest, and he saved me once already” she explains. I look to the two of them, then back at the stairwell where the bodies are. We have to get moving. Can we trust them? I have half a mind to leave them behind. Why should we take risks? Then I look back to the maid’s face. She looks petrified.

  “Fine, but any funny business and we’re out” I say. It occurs to me that we have no way to defend ourselves from them. It occurs to me that they could kill us in a blink of an eye. It also occurs to me that nobody else has spoken up to contradict my choices. I seeme
d to have taken the lead. It occurs to me that I could have just signed all of our death warrants by trusting these strangers, but it also occurs to me that I don’t care as much as it should.

  THREE

  I creep through the seemingly empty hotel. Nothing is moving, but that doesn't fool me for a second. I hear something behind us, so I whip around, and find that it was just the maid, Kerry. As agreed, they are following behind us. I’m still not sure how I feel about this. We really need to get to the room though, before it's too late. I think of Riley, and my pace quickens a bit more. We come down another hall, and I'm distracted by the sight that I find. There on the dark blue carpet, in the midst of a massive scarlet puddle is a small boy. He is standing there before us, and his mouth is covered with blood. I take a deep breath, not knowing what to do in this situation. I begin to back away from the boy, but he's spotted us. Thomas makes a weird noise behind me, and I know how scared he must be. I know because I'm just as scared right now. I take another step back, but the boy follows suit. I'm trying not to make any sudden movements, as to not set him off. What is he? What happened to this boy? I think vaguely to the zombie movies I’ve seen, to the faces so much like this. This isn’t makeup though. This isn’t a movie set. This is real life. Zombies don’t exist in real life though. They are fantasy, horror. So, what is this?

  We stand there in the middle of the hallway, as the monstrous boy stares at us, like we've transformed into giant cheeseburgers. I mentally think back to cartoons, where someone would be hungry, and the people around them began to look like steak, or some other tantalizing food.

  "We're going to slowly turn around, and run as fast as we've ever run before, you guys got that?" I ask quietly, my lips not even moving. I hear each of them agree timidly, so I take one more step back, before turning on my heel, and running back down the hallway. How are we going to get back to our room now? The thought crosses me that the boy, that small boy caused all of those blood stains. That boy did something to someone, or maybe multiple people that caused those nasty stains. The thought rattles me to my core.