⊹₊｡ꕤ Wrong Way ꕤ°₊⊹
⊹ ₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆₊⋆☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆₊ ⊹
The front doors of the hotel were chained shut.
Which, to Idris Malik, was less of a warning and more of a suggestion.
With some climbing, a questionable jump, and a brief argument with a stubborn window, he found himself inside the lobby.
Dust floated through beams of moonlight.
The reception desk had collapsed years ago.
A chandelier hung from the ceiling at an angle that suggested gravity had been trying to remove it for quite some time.
Idris looked around.
Idris - “Still standing,” he said. “Honestly, I’m a little disappointed.”
The hotel answered with silence.
He grinned and walked deeper inside.
Abandoned places were comforting.
Not because they were safe. Most weren’t.
Not because they were normal. They definitely weren’t.
But abandoned places were honest.
If a floor wanted to collapse, it collapsed.
If a wall wanted to fall over, it fell over.
People, on the other hand, usually waited until you trusted them first.
A loud bang echoed somewhere downstairs.
Idris stopped.
A few seconds passed.
Then he sighed.
Idris - “Oh.”
Another bang.
Followed by what sounded suspiciously like someone muttering in frustration.
Idris rubbed his forehead.
Idris - “He’s here.”
The Night Reaper.
The self-proclaimed terror of abandoned buildings.
The mysterious stalker who had spent the last several months trying—and failing—to kill him.
Idris had never learned the man’s real name.
Not for lack of trying.
Every conversation usually went something like.
Idris - “What’s your name?”
Silence.
Idris - “Alright then.”
And that was that.
Another crash echoed through the building.
Idris checked his watch.
Idris - “You’re late.”
As if offended by the comment, something metallic clattered loudly in another hallway.
Idris smiled.
Yep.
Definitely him.
He continued walking.
A moment later something swung out from a doorway.
A metal pipe attached to a rope.
It shot across the hallway.
Directly behind him.
Idris stopped and looked over his shoulder.
The pipe finished its swing and hit a wall.
CLANG.
He stared at it.
Idris - “...Close.”
The pipe swung back.
Missed him again.
He continued walking.
Idris - “Your timing’s getting worse.”
Silence.
He knew The Night Reaper could hear him.
The man was dramatic.
Not mute.
There was a difference.
Idris reached a staircase and immediately spotted dozens of marbles scattered across the steps.
He stared at them.
Then looked around.
Then back at the marbles.
Idris - “...Really?”
He nudged one with his shoe.
It rolled down several steps.
Nothing happened.
Another marble.
Nothing.
Another.
Still nothing.
Idris folded his arms.
Idris - “The Night Reaper, conqueror of staircases.”
Silence.
A distant thud suggested somebody had just kicked something in anger.
Idris laughed.
Idris - “Glad you’re listening.”
He stepped around the marbles and continued upward.
The higher floors were darker.
Quieter.
For a while nothing happened.
No traps.
No suspicious noises.
No attempted murder.
Which was strange.
Very strange.
Idris stopped in the middle of a hallway.
The silence felt wrong.
The Night Reaper wasn’t the type to give up after two failed attempts.
If anything, failure usually encouraged him.
Like a very determined mosquito.
Idris looked down the corridor.
Idris - “Huh.”
Nothing.
No movement.
No sounds.
No obvious trap.
His eyes narrowed.
Idris - “Oh.”
Now he understood.
The Night Reaper was planning something bigger.
That never ended well.
Mostly for The Night Reaper.
Idris followed the corridor until he noticed a thin wire stretched across a doorway.
Interesting.
He crouched.
Then spotted another wire.
And another.
And another.
His grin widened.
Idris - “Oh, this is ambitious.”
For the first time tonight, he was actually impressed.
The setup stretched through several connected hallways.
A chain reaction.
One trigger leading into another.
Then another.
Then another.
It was honestly pretty clever.
Idris walked around the side of the mechanism, careful not to touch anything.
He found a position overlooking the entire setup.
Then he waited.
A shadow appeared at the far end of the corridor.
Tall.
Dark clothing.
A mask.
The Night Reaper.
The figure looked around dramatically.
Apparently checking whether Idris had arrived.
Idris bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself laughing.
The Night Reaper reached forward.
And activated the trap.
For one glorious second everything worked perfectly.
Wires snapped.
Objects swung.
Furniture crashed.
Doors slammed.
A laundry cart launched itself across a hallway like it had been personally insulted.
The entire sequence unfolded flawlessly.
In the wrong direction.
Every part of it.
Not one section touched the area where Idris was actually standing.
The destruction continued for several seconds.
Then silence.
The Night Reaper slowly looked up.
Satisfied.
Proud.
Victorious.
Then turned around.
And saw Idris.
Standing safely behind the entire thing.
Watching.
Idris raised a hand.
Idris - “Hi.”
The Night Reaper froze.
Neither moved.
Finally Idris nodded.
Idris - “That was actually pretty good.”
The masked figure straightened slightly.
Then Idris added.
Idris - “Wrong way though.”
The Night Reaper looked ready to throw himself through a wall.
Idris walked past the destroyed hall.
Idris - “Honestly, your craftsmanship is improving.”
The Night Reaper suddenly lunged.
A desperate last attempt.
His boot landed directly on part of the trap he hadn’t fully reset.
There was a loud snap.
A rope tightened.
And The Night Reaper vanished upward.
The Night Reaper - “AA—”
The shout cut off abruptly.
Idris looked up.
The Night Reaper was now hanging upside down from the ceiling.
Slowly spinning.
There was a long silence.
Idris blinked.
The Night Reaper continued spinning.
Idris rubbed his face.
Idris - “You know, I feel like we’re both learning valuable lessons tonight.”
The spinning increased slightly.
Idris - “I just haven’t figured out what yours is.”
The Night Reaper stopped moving entirely.
Possibly out of pure embarrassment.
Idris started walking toward the exit.
Idris - “Same time tomorrow?”
No answer.
Idris - “Still not talking, huh?”
Silence.
Idris - “Alright then.”
He waved.
Idris - “Good luck with that.”
And left.
Behind him, somewhere deep inside the hotel, something heavy fell over.
Followed by what sounded suspiciously like an extremely angry muffled scream.
Idris smiled all the way home.
Tomorrow’s attempt was going to be interesting.
⊹ ₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆₊⋆☁︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎⋆⁺₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☁︎ ⋆₊ ⊹
