She woke up in a strange place. It felt like early morning but she couldn''t be sure.
It looked like a hotel room but she didn''t remember how she got there. Next to the bed was a writing desk and a box on a stand. There was a breakfast nook built into the bay window and beside it was a balcony closed shut against the storm. Thunder rolled in from somewhere and rain battered at the windows. She was warm and dry, however, in a bed that smelled of fresh laundry.
There was a kitchenette and a bathroom on the other end of the room. She went over and looked into the bathroom—it was very clean—and then she closed the door and looked into the cabinets and the icebox. They were empty and definitely didn''t have any clues on how she got there.
Meet me in the lobby.
atrium.
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She nodded. “Might I ask who you are?”
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She raised an eyebrow. “You don''t remember anything?”
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The boy started crying. “Maybe? I don''t know! This is my place but I don''t remember why.”
She frowned. But she patted his shoulder and said, gently: “Don''t cry, it''ll be all right.”
He sniffed. “But I''m being a poor host. Are you hungry?”
was
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She took a breath and decided to just go ahead. "Do you know how you got here? Do you remember anything?
He shook his head.
This poor kid,
He shook his head, then looked up. “Wait. Maybe that''s why you''re here? To help me figure things out?”
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She hesitated again, but her stomach rumbled. “Yes, I''m hungry. How far is this dining hall?”
He walked to a doors off to the side. Inside was a vast space full of tables. A long counter stood at one end, heavy with food that steamed in chafing dishes. She started piling her plate with eggs and sausages and hash browns.
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She started filling out a plate. “Here''s some eggs and sausages, and bacon. And here''s some fruit and toast.”
She handed him the fully-stacked plate and they found a nearby table. She started eating—it felt like she hadn''t eaten in days.
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She paused between stuffing her mouth. “It''s excellent!”
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She gestured at herself. “I can''t remember how I got here. I woke up in a hotel I don''t recognize and now I''m here, having breakfast with a boy who doesn''t even know his own name. None of that is normal.”
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She frowned. “What mailbox?”
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She frowned again. “Where are the admin office and the mailboxes?”
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She took a deep breath. She wondered, again, what was happening in this place. Did this boy bring her here? Why weren''t they allowed to see what was behind some of the doors? But for the moment, she was more curious about the mailboxes. “Let''s go see if I have mail.”
“
She looked down and realized she''d cleaned on her plate, and it wasn''t a small one. She''d been hungrier than she thought.
She pushed her chair back. “The food was good. Now let''s go check those mailboxes.”
They went out into the atrium. They were still the only people in the massive building. Natural light poured in from the skylights and from the windows that stretched over each entrance and went all the way up to the roof.
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She looked around, mouth half-open. “It''s a beautiful hotel. But why is no one else here? How did it get here?”
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The boy waved her over to a window, where they saw a robot arm retrieve a good-sized box and place one end of it up to the window. She opened the mailbox and found a slab of glass and metal.
The boy leaned in. “Oh, hey, it''s a phone.”
She picked up the ‘phone'' and turned it over in her hands. She frowned and tried tapping it a few times. “This is supposed to be a phone?”
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Notes.
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huge.
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She looked up, then back down at the phone in her hands. “I''m fine. I just don''t understand any of this.”
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She opened her mouth to say Yes but the boy was looking up at her with his big brown eyes.
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* * *
A bit later she found herself lying in bed back in her room. The rain had stopped but the outside was still looking gray from where she was.
She turned left and right. The big, fluffy bed was taking some getting used to. She had a smartphone now, whatever that was, but felt no closer to figuring anything out. Turning to the nightstand she saw a little drawer and inside the drawer were blank pads, notebooks, and sketchbooks, plus an assortment of pencils and pens.
She smiled and pulled out a sketchbook. She''d barely flipped it open when there was a knock on the door.
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She sat down next to him. “You''ve said that. Why are you so bored?”
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The boy looked up. “I guess you haven''t tried any of the doors, huh? They''re all locked.”
She frowned. No, she hadn''t thought to try any doors. She''d just found her way back to her room. “All the doors are locked? That''s weird. Doesn''t that make the hotel kind of like a prison?”
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She thought for a moment. “How long have you been in this hotel?”
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“you
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She got up and looked on the desk and the bedside table. “Huh. There isn''t much to read in here, is there?”
“craaaaaazy.
She chuckled. “I''m not going to go crazy. Like I said, sketching is always an option. You don''t need books to be entertained.”
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“Library.
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* * *
As the boy explained, they were on the northeast wing and the library was one floor down in the southwest wing. They went down the central stairwell in her wing, then headed for the walkway overlooking the atrium. From there they crossed the bridge to the southeast wing and then the bridge to the southwest wing. This involved padding down the green carpet for what felt like many minutes.
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To unlock the library, clean the arcade.
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She remembered passing some glass store fronts but hadn''t paid attention to them. They''d been dark and closed shut in any case.
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She walked among them. It was a bit like being in a cemetery. They were so many cabinets and they all looked the same under the white sheets. She reached out and lifted one up.
“House of the Dead
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The boy picked up one of the tethered plastic guns. “You shoot zombies on the screen and shoot offscreen to reload. It''s awesome.”
She smiled at him. “You like it, huh?”
“TekkenPrimal Rage
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She looked around. It was a big room and the floor was so dusty they were kicking up clouds just by walking through. “I think we should cover up the cabinets again and take care of the floor first.''
They did that, then put on dust masks and swept the floor. Even with the masks the air got thick as the gray stuff went everywhere.
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She finished sweeping and wiped the dust from her face. “Okay, I think the floor is clear. I think we can start on the actual games.”
They started wiping the cabinets down, cleaning off however many year''s worth of dirt and grime. Now and again the boy would pick up the bucket of used rags and run to the janitor''s closet.
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She straightened and stretched, feeling a not-unpleasant soreness in her muscles. It had been several hours since breakfast and she was starting to feel it.
The boy looked down at himself. “We should''ve looked for some janitor outfits too. Dunno if we can sit in the dining hall like this.”
“
Fifteen minutes or an eternity later he came back with a picnic basket. She''d been about to go after him, but just said, “Took you long enough.”
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She took the sandwich and took a grateful bite.
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He poured her a cup. Music was playing somewhere in the atrium and it wafted up to where they sat.
She accepted another sandwich. “You got pretty creative with our lunch problem.”
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She finished her sandwich and wiped off her hands. Draining her coffee cup, she couldn''t help but notice how dirty her skirt was. It was like a year''s worth of grime had gotten on them. “I don''t know about you, but I''m starting to feel pretty gross.”
He shrugged. “We can finish before five, shower and change, and then head down for a proper sit-down dinner.”
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She accepted it from the boy and took a bite. It was cold and creamy and the egg-white surface was a savoury toasty-brown.
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The boy smirked. “Figured you needed feeding.”
The boy looked at the still-dusty arcade floor. “Looks like it''s time to break out the vacuum cleaners. I saw a couple in the janitor''s closet, be right back.”
He ran back to the closet and she wandered over to the arcade machines. She ran a finger over one of the screens. They''d wiped the dust off but the glass was still streaked with residue.
The boy returned with the vacuums and they started on the floor again. They passed their wands over the floor and the difference was instantly visible.
It took the both of them to move each arcade cabinet to clean underneath. Her arms shook and the boy told her to put her back and legs into it. When they finally finished she was trembling a bit and she saw that he was tired too.
They began the delicate process of wiping down the machines again, and then spraying vinegar on the screens and cleaning them with newspaper.
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She shook her head. “Not really. I don''t remember them being around when I was a kid.”
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She gave him a smile and continued wiping.
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She could feel the ache in her arms. She''d never cleaned this much before. “How long do you think it will take to finish with all the cabinets?”
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She heaved a sigh of relief and looked around. They''d finished a lot and hopefully would be done before the evening. “Thank God. I don''t think I have much more strength in me.”
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* * *
“us.
She stretched. Every part of her body ached and she knew the boy was feeling it too. She looked at him and chuckled. “I think we''re going to need quite a long shower. You''re looking pretty gross.”
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She went back to her room and found her bag. She looked at her grimy hands and clothes and grimaced.
* * *
She turned off the hot water and stepped out of the shower bath. She slipped on a bathrobe, put her hair in a bun, and dressed. Then she headed out.
She found the boy at a dining table, playing with his phone. He wore a white t-shirt and sweatpants.
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Her stomach grumbled. “Yeah, let''s get some food.”
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She looked at what was on offer and her mouth watered. “Hm, I''m not sure what to get. What are you thinking about eating?”
He shrugged. “I''ll have what you''re having?”
She looked at him and sighed. “That''s not very helpful. I don''t know what I''m getting either.”
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She tried to picture it in her head. It didn''t sound bad. “Is it a real dish or did you just make that up?”
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“doesn''t
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She chuckled. “We worked our butts off today. I''m going to head to my room after this.”
They passed the rest of the meal in small talk, then put their plates away.
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She raised an eyebrow. “You''re actually going to do more work tonight?”
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She shook her head. “You''re going to be sore in the morning, you know.”
They headed upstairs. She felt her legs dragging and knew she was going to pass out the minute she got in bed.
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She stepped up to one of the machines and ran a hand over the controls. Her fingers came back clean. “It looks brand-new. Like it''s been professionally-restored.”
He gave her a side glance. “Are you saying we don''t do good work?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. We did an amazing job. I just never expected us to get the machines looking this good.”
House of the Dead
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She shook her head. “Well, have fun then. I''m headed to my room to pass out.”
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She gave him a wave and a smile. “Try not to stay up too late.”
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She chuckled and shook her head again. She turned and headed down the walkway to her room.
You can now unlock the library.
The library was dark. She walked in, sensed a large complicated space but saw nothing, and then she found a light switch.
Click.
Things weren''t much better with the lights on. The library was every bit as dusty and disused as the arcade was, with shelves thick with dust and cobwebs everywhere. She stared around the room and her shoulders started to slump as she took in how much work this was going to involve.
“