“Okay, let’s take a look,” he said.
Nick shied back from the light as Ricky approached until he understood.
“I just want to look at your neck and see if you have any cuts or anything.”
Nick’s voice was ragged. “Just scratches from my own fingers.”
Ricky nodded as he looked. There were vertical red marks that he had seen Nick inflict on himself when he felt like he couldn’t breathe. The rest of his neck was puffy and raw, but looked okay.
“Take off the jacket,” Ricky whispered.
“Why? I just told you…”
“Take it off. I have to look under your shirt to make sure you didn’t get bitten.”
“I didn’t, I swear.”
Ricky held the flashlight on Nick and stared at him with hard eyes until he gave in. After removing his jacket, Nick pulled off his shirt as well. He only unbuttoned the cuffs and a few buttons at the collar and then pulled the whole shirt over his head. Ricky circled him slowly, pushing the housekeeping cart out of the way so he could get a good look at Nick’s back.
“Okay. You’re good.”
“Just a couple of scratches is all, and I did that to myself,” Nick said. He pulled his shirt back on, wincing as the material settled around his neck.
Ricky turned his attention to the cart. He found a mop at the back and unscrewed the handle from the head. It was like the one he had broken in half for Liz and Alan earlier. Ricky repeated the process, propping the handle against the wall and then stomping on it to crack it in half. He pressed his ear against the door to listen if anything was coming to investigate the sound.
“Take this,” Ricky said, handing one half of the handle to Nick.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Next time one of those things comes at you, stab it,” Ricky said.
Nick tried to object, coughed, and then finally got it out.
“You don’t understand. It’s not like that.”
“Nick, that thing could have killed you. It almost choked the life out of you.”
“That wasn’t a thing. It was Aaron.”
“No. It couldn’t have been Aaron… You have to be wrong. When I saw Riley down in the lobby, he didn’t look the same but he was still a person. You’re saying that Aaron changed into an unrecognizable monster in the five minutes that we were apart?”
Nick shook his head. “He was like that the whole time. From the time that he came into Amber’s room, he was a monster. He just tricked us into not seeing it. Once he had me alone, he didn’t hide his nature anymore. You’ll never see them coming, and by the time you know what’s happening, it will be too late.”
Ricky studied Nick for a few seconds.
“Well, if you see something like that coming near you again, you have to defend yourself.”
“You’re not listening,” Nick said. “You don’t see them coming. I finally figured out how Riley was jumped in the first place. The only thing you see is what you want to see. Then, while you’re in that fog, they get you.”
“I’ve seen plenty,” Ricky said. “And the next thing I see, I’m going to stab.”
He gestured with his stake and Nick flinched back.
“You ready?” Ricky asked.
“For what?”
“Back to the lobby,” Ricky said. “I’m going to make the call.”
He didn’t mention the rest of his plan. Ricky was also thinking about what Riley had said to him—“Maybe you can help me, Ricky.”
Now that he had a weapon in his hand, the idea of helping Riley seemed like the right thing to do. If Riley was changing into one of those monsters, it might be the only thing to do.
“I’m not going back down there,” Nick said. “Are you crazy? Aaron will get us for sure. He knows you well enough to know that you’ll go back down there. He’ll be waiting in the dark for you.”
“I’ll be ready. Come on—it will be safer if we stick together.”
“I’m fine here,” Nick said. “I’ll push the cart against the door and wait it out.”
“The door opens out, Nick. The cart won’t help you. I got in here with a pocketknife. We know they can get past a lock.”
“I’ll take my chances. Stay here with me. We can sleep in shifts and bolt out of here when the sun comes up. It’s the only safe option.”
Ricky pointed his light at Nick’s eyes.
Nick squinted at the light but didn’t raise a hand to block it. Still, Ricky felt uneasy.
“No, I’m going. Last chance.”
“I’m staying.”
Ricky took a breath and then nodded.
“When I get help, I’ll come back for you.”
Eleven: Turn
“What about these?” Alan asked, holding up a bag of cashews.
“I don’t know,” Amber said. “Can’t hurt, right?”
Alan split the tiny bag and scattered the nuts on the floor.
“Here we go. This is more like it,” Liz said. She had a package of crackers. Each cracker was dotted with sesame seeds. She began to scrape them off into a cup with her fingernail.
“How about mirrors?” Alan asked. “Isn’t there some folklore about mirrors?”
“Just that they can’t be seen,” Amber said. “As far as I know, they’re not a deterrent. From what I read, they don’t like holy water, crucifixes, scattered seeds, and garlic.”
“Put the Bible near the door,” Alan said. “Just in case.”
Amber moved to do that. She set the Bible down on top of the dresser when the knock came.
The three of them froze.
She didn’t say a word until the knock came again.
“Who is it?”
The reply was a whisper. Amber had to lean forward and hold her breath to hear it when it was repeated a little louder the second time—“It’s Ricky.”
Amber turned back to the others.
“They claim to be Ricky,” she said.
“I vote that we don’t open
