Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

them, although she could not see them: ?The Men?. Something about their tr ead, their
intent, seemed spiteful and foul. Alone again in this dismal r oom, its ceiling seemed low er
and mor e deeply stained than ever. She stood still, bar ely br eathing, listening for voices,
for the sound of Simon?s voice talking to someone, for it all to be all r ight again. But she
hear d nothing now. The footsteps of The Men had stopped; she could not even hear Simon?s
tr ead above her. The Chr istmas tr ee tw inkled dimly and the painted w ooden Santa?s faces
all seemed to star e at her. The gr andfather clock tick-tocked time?s passage in dull, funer eal
tones once mor e. She stood still, solitar y, alone but for the dead r emains of bir ds and foxes
and deer.
?No one?s ther e.? Simon?s voice came w ith him back thr ough the door behind the bar.
?Ther e?s no one ther e.?
?Ther e must be! We hear d them walking ar ound upstair s. They w er e doing something.
We both hear d them, didn?t w e??
?Yes, w e hear d them; but I?ve checked all the r ooms up ther e. Ther e?s no one ther e.?
?Simon, ar e you messing w ith me? Ther e must be someone ther e. Wer e they hiding??
?No one. Really. Ther e?s no one ther e.?
?Who ar e they, then? Who is stuck her e??
?I don?t know.?
?Well, w hoever they ar e, they know w e?r e her e now ? ?
Befor e she had finished speaking, she hear d muffled voices coming fr om the r estaur ant
bar next door. They w er e not the voices of people in a r estaur ant, or of staff w or king in a
hotel. They w er e men?s voices, secr etive, clandestine, menacing. Although she could not
make out w hat they said, they sent a cold bolt r iving r ight thr ough to the cor e of her. She
looked at Simon.
?This time w e?r e going together ,? she said.
She took his hand as he led the way and they cr ept slow ly and noiselessly thr ough the
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