When Fate Decided to Play its Part

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE:

A GLIMPSE OF THE PAST

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Althea just realizes how stupid she was after arriving on the floor where the venue of that party was on. She should have taken the elevator instead of the stairs since she was trying to escape. She was so stupid to take a path that will take her more time to get into the basement- the parking lot- and drive home immediately.

She always does this whenever her mind is in chaos. Meeting familiar people and remembering unpleasant memories from the past because of it has never been good for anyone, especially if those memories are bad enough to engrave deep traumas on them.

In her case, it was not them who gave it to her.

‘But,’ the corner of her mouth twitched. ‘If I ever did decide to take the elevator, it would be more embarrassing since it is in front of them. If I suddenly turned my back on them then stopped just to wait forever for the elevator to open while them staring at me from the back- isn’t that more embarrassing?’

Yup, that would be more embarrassing. It would be nice if there was a door and she will dramatically open it, dramatically drop off her last phrase, then dramatically turn her back- and dramatically shut the door, then storm off the room.

A dramatic exit.

‘Ugh,’ she groaned in her head. She cannot even laugh about how stupid she sounds. She shrugged. ‘Whatever, better to take the elevator in this floor instead. But- ‘

She stopped and looked around the hallways and rows of doors. One of her brows raised. ‘Where am I supposed to find the elevator?’

She looked around and she cannot see a map hanging on the wall. Weren’t they supposed to be hanging on the hallways? Since she cannot she them on where she was, she decided to turn on the next hallway.

She strides on the hallway with her rather long legs. The crispy sounds of her heels that keeps on hitting the tiled floor was the only noise that makes the floor looks not haunted by the lack of other sound and human beings wondering around.

The floor was quite and still. It feels like the floor was… Deserted.

That was then Althea noticed the oddity of the situation. The quick pace of her steps slowed down by a lot and her smooth forehead slowly crinkled as her brows met. Her steps slowed even more until they completely halted, the noise also disappearing on the air.

Without the single noise, the floor feels like it was dumped in a muddy water. The lights even dimmed a little and it the paints of the walls looks old and faded on Althea’s eyes. The feeling was like she was suddenly transported into another dimension that is the same but different. The atmosphere also feels like it was straight out from a horror movie.

to be

will still jump out of fear or scream, or just plainly shiver and tremble on her seat- not even uttering a single word. Completely frozen like a stone

“There’s no one here,”

they sure

Althea sighed in relief. ‘There are still

the two of them were men, as long as she knows that she’s not the only one who’s here on

as a hostage, let’s

those police

and snickers coming from the two of them. Their voices and

ears. It exploded loudly, making Althea

Bombs?

Stealing?

Police?

these criminals doing here? How

thrown into the spiral of confusion and panic, unable to

helped them get inside the building? Did they pretended to be guests or pretended to be one of the tenants of the rooms in this hotel that is why they got in

body shudder in fear and lost its warmth. She can even feel her blood rushing down her head, and she can hear

the guards… Did they kill

and looked at her left. It was a room. She tried reaching out for the knob and turn it to open the

made her move fast and swiftly, not even creating a sound. She went doors after doors, trying to open them, but they were locked. The

another knob and turned

the click of the opening door, since, like the other doors

was spreading the coldness to her whole body. She shivered and the grip of her hand on the knob even tighten

looking at the object that was pointing at her, that was pressed on her back, Althea knew, instinctively, that it was ‘that’.

It was a gun.

rising after remembering a scene like this. A scene that she wished

scene where she was running with tears streaming down her face with dried blood on her lips and nose. She was whimpering