They were the worst for that.
I stood and stretched, not quite realizing I was so close to the wall. My gaze swept over the mural in front of me, and I nearly screamed. A giant painted clown fromIt, the Stephen King novel, stared back at me in the meager light.
I almost screamed. My hands slapped over my mouth as I stumbled toward the bathroom, shutting the door with a soft click because I had to get away from the clown. Flipping on the light, I inhaled a deep breath and tried to calm the frantic beating of my heart.
As soon as my bladder was empty, I switched off the light and snuck back into the room. I could still hear Pagan’s deep, even breathing. He was worn out. I bet nothing woke him up until morning. It had to be late. I guessed it was at least midnight by how dark it was in the room.
There were two beds, and I sat on the edge of the one closest to the door as I found my clothes, got dressed, and took out my phone. The time on the screen revealed almost three in the morning. Pagan and I must have fallen asleep around seven or eight. No wonder I woke up in the middle of the night.
My stomach chose that moment to grumble so loud I worried it would wake him. It didn’t. He mumbled something in his sleep and then quieted.
I swiped across my cell to open it and scrolled through recent messages. There weren’t many. Trish checked in. Nylah asked if there was anything she could do for Pagan. That was it.
“Hey,” a deep voice called.
I smiled, lifting my head to greet Pagan. “I didn’t realize you were awake.”
A light snoring was the only response.
Wait. Didn’t he just speak to me? Weird.
I went back to my phone and typed a few texts. The last one to come through was from Rael. He wanted to know if I was with Pagan. None of his goddamn business, and I replied with that, followed by an emoji of a middle finger. Why the hell was he messaging me in the middle of the night?
Oh. Probably because he saw Nylah texting me. I wondered why they were awake and figured their baby girl must have woken them up. She was only a couple of months old.
Warm breath tickled the back of my neck as I frowned and glanced over my shoulder. No one was behind me, but I had the weirdest sensation of being watched. From the glow of my phone’s screen, I could see the framed art in the room and the floor-to-ceiling mural of Pennywise the Clown.
This motel was super creepy, but in the best way. I shivered as I thought of the history and the proximity to the Tonopah Cemetery outside to the left of the parking lot. At least I wasn’t afraid of clowns. That would make this place terrifying.
As I sat there, I heard an eerie sound, almost like a wail coming from the bathroom. It was low. If I was sleeping, I wouldn’t have heard it. Heat, like someone had blown their breath over my neck, warmed my skin a second time. My gaze landed on the Pennywise painting, and I swear he winked. Every image of a clown in that room seemed to follow my movements as I shot to my feet, needing to get the hell out of the room for a few minutes.
I opened the door, slipped outside, and shut it behind me without thinking. As soon as I heard it, I realized my mistake. I didn’t have a key. It locked, preventing me from going back inside and waking Pagan.
“Shit,” I muttered as I glanced at the parking lot. I didn’t intend to leave, but now I didn’t have a choice. The only other option was to stay in my car until I could knock on the door and wake Pagan. I felt guilty just thinking about waking him knowing he was getting the sleep he needed. This place was too scary in the middle of the night. I didn’t know if I would stick around once I slid behind the wheel and had a chance to leave.
I heard rumors once that a seven-foot ghost clown terrorized people at the hotel, usually in the middle of the night.
“Nice,” I whispered.Way to go. I’ll just scare the hell out of myself now. No clowns needed.
Pagan’s room was located on the first floor. I didn’t have to take the stairs, so it was a straight shot to the SUV. I had a small pep talk and internal monologue—You can do this, Snooki—before I began walking toward my vehicle at a brisk pace.
It should have worked. I nearly congratulated myself on making it there unharmed until I spotted a shadow moving away from behind the SUV. The figure wasn’t a clown—just a man.
Black mask and a hoodie. Gloves. Dark jeans.
He hunched over when I spotted him, arms lifted and stretched out, staring me down like he intended to chase me. Well, fuck. I couldn’t get into the room with Pagan. Everyone else in their rooms would be sleeping. The office was closed.
I didn’t have a fucking chance if I didn’t run, especially when I saw something glisten in his hand, the light reflecting off the surface. Metal. A knife? Gun? I didn’t have a clue.
All I knew was that I had to run. Now.
There were only two options—the barren road to the left or the cemetery on the right. I chose the foggy, creepy cemetery that seemed a better choice than running on an empty road where I could easily be seen.
As the masked man took a step in my direction, I bolted across the parking lot and darted left, rushing through the fog as it swirled around my ankles. My heart pounded in rhythm with my shoes as I sucked air into my lungs.
I rushed through the gap in the fence, feeling rather than seeing my pursuer. In my head, hot breath blew on the back of my neck again, and I fought the urge to scream. Terror seized my lungs as my vision tunneled. If I died right here, Pagan would find my body and never know what happened.
There wasn’t anywhere to hide. Cactus, tumbleweeds, and old headstones provided little cover. A few spots had extraquadrants of fencing, but I wouldn’t be able to conceal myself for long. I dashed behind one, dragging air into my aching lungs.
