On the third slam the door finally flew open. Frank nearly fell over himself rushing into the hotel room. He turned and threw his weight against the door. With a clunk the lock snapped shut. The hotel advertised this as the Pelican Suite, a spacious floor plan and extra large bathrooms with seashell tile inlays. The bed was shoved to the back corner of the room. Hunched on the end of the bed was a policeman. An elderly woman stood over him.

“Get out.” The policeman’s gun was drawn in Frank’s direction. He had shoved the woman out of his way.

Frank threw his arms up.  “Please don’t shoot.”

The police officer looked towards the woman for a moment and back to Frank. “I’m not going to ask you again,” he said, cocking the gun.

“I swear I am not going to hurt anyone. I’m begging you, do not shoot that gun, those things will come running.”

The woman placed her hand on the policeman’s arm. “Stephen, he is right. When my Alfred was…” A shiver went through her. “When Alfred died, it was gun shots that brought them to us.”

“Fine, but I’m watching you.” Stephen let his arm drop back to his side. “Damnit Betty this hurts like hell.” Stephen’s uniform was splayed open and his shirt was cut back. His left hand balled the sheets and pressed against his abdomen.

“Move your hand,” Betty said, pulling at the bloodied mass of sheets. As Stephen pulled his hand back Betty’s face twisted into a frown. “Its as I feared. When you pushed me to the side, you pulled the stitches apart.”

“What did you want me to do, let any asshole in here? I have to keep us safe.”

“I don’t think anyone will be safe anymore.” Betty said, reaching for some gauze. “Could you come hold this dear?”

Frank walked across the room and took the soft cloth from her hand. “Here?”

“Yes, hold it firmly while I search the room for something to stitch this wound again.” Betty got up and began searching through the room. Several suitcases lay strewn about the floor, half packed and tripped over in the initial panic.  “Hold it firmly, now,” Betty said, as she emptied a woman’s purse onto the bed.

“So you’re a cop?” Frank winced as Stephen’s blood began to seep up onto his fingers.

“Yeah, I’ve been on the force since my early twenties. Dedicated my life to protecting and serving my community. Never thought it would end like this.”

  “Could be worse,” Frank smiled, “you could be—”

A scream came from the hallway. The three of them froze. Stephen pulled his gun up, aiming it towards the entrance of the room. It shook in his hand. Betty was half buried in a pink floral-print suitcase. Her eyes glistened with fear. Frank looked to Stephen and motioned for the door. Stephen nodded, moving his free hand to the gauze. Frank inched his way toward the door. Shaking he stood on his toes raising his eye to the peep-hole. Whatever was happening was just out of sight.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Footsteps came thundering down the hall. With a wail the creature dove across the hallway flying directly into the scuffle. Frank shrunk away from the door. Betty and Stephen were looking his way, still frozen. Frank brought his finger to his lips. With measured step Frank walked over to Stephen. He placed his hand on the rattling gun. Stephen held on to the gun for a moment.

“Do you know how to use one of these?” Stephen whispered.

Frank smiled at Stephen, “Point and shoot, right?”

Stephen smiled and nodded. “There’s another clip on my belt.” Stephen motioned towards the foot of the bed. “Take… it—” Stephen’s eyes rolled back as his head hit the pillow. Blood poured from his mouth as he began to convulse.

Betty dashed across the room. “No, no, no!” She began chest compressions on the officer. “Please, no!” 

Suddenly there was loud smack against the door. The color drained from Betty’s face. Frank aimed the gun at the door. “We need to go now, through the window.”

“But, we cant just leave him!” Betty said, tears streaming down her face.

With a loud crack the frame of the door exploded into the room. A large figure stood silhouetted against the light from the hall. Its chest rose and fell, waiting, surveying the room.  Fire poured from the end of the gun as Frank emptied the clip into the doorway. The creature’s body fell to the ground.

“We need to go now Betty!” Frank roared, running over and grabbing Stephen’s bloodied belt. He clasped it tight around his waist and slammed another clip into the gun. “I have enough to get us out of here but—”

Another creature came tumbling through the door, tripping over its dead companion. Grabbing Betty by the shoulders, Frank ripped her backwards. It lunged after them, wrapping itself around Betty’s legs. With every kick the creature’s claws sunk deeper into her flesh.

“Help me, oh God please, Jesus help me!”

From somewhere deep in the building another scream resonated.

“Betty, let go, I can’t shoot it!” Betty dug her fingers into Frank’s forearm. “Betty, let go,” Frank screamed. Foot steps began pounding down the hall.

Blood spurted from the creature’s gums as its  teeth sunk into Betty’s calf. She let out a guttural howl and released her grip on Frank.

Standing in the doorway more silhouettes silently observed the situation. Frank spun on his heel swinging the gun to the door.  The creature on the ground was making its way up Betty’s body, swatting away her feeble attempts to save herself.

With one final look at Betty, Frank turned, blasted the glass out of the window and dove into the daylight.

# # #

Alex Gorman lives in southern New Jersey. He is currently studying Creative Writing at Full Sail University.

Photo: Arek Socha