6: I Think I’ve Been Here Before

The scream cut off so suddenly that the silence afterward felt worse.

Winona sat frozen on the edge of her bed while rain slammed violently against the windows outside. Somewhere down the hallway, footsteps pounded across the carpet followed by distant shouting.

Nobody else opened their door, not even once.

Winona stared toward her own entrance with growing disbelief.

“Are these people insane?” she muttered.

Another sound echoed outside, something heavy dragging slowly across the floor.

"Okay, I can't take this anymore!"

Every instinct screamed at her to stay inside. Unfortunately, Winona had never been particularly talented at listening to good decisions.

She grabbed the silver lighter and her phone from the bedside table and quietly unlocked the door.

The hallway outside was almost completely dark.

Only the emergency lights near the ceiling remained on, casting dim red shadows across the corridor. Most guest room doors stayed tightly shut while silence pressed heavily through the entire floor.

Winona stepped out carefully.

“Hello?” she whispered.

No answer came.

The air smelled strange now, metallic, like rust.

Another soft sound echoed farther ahead, footsteps. Not slow but of running.

Winona’s pulse spiked as she instinctively backed away, but before she could react properly, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and yanked her hard into the nearest storage room.

The door slammed shut.

Winona nearly attacked the person on instinct before recognizing Adrian in the darkness.

“What is wrong with you?” he yelled but quietly.

“What is wrong with you?” she shot back immediately. “Somebody screamed!”

“I know.”

The tiny storage room barely had enough space for both of them. Winona found herself pressed between shelves and Adrian’s chest while thunder shook the hotel outside.

Okay, this was definitely too close.

“You shouldn’t be out there,” Adrian said softly.

“And you should?”

He looked irritated for the first time since meeting her. “I followed the scream too.”

Winona frowned. “Then why are we hiding in a closet?”

“Because I saw someone dragging an axe through the hallway.”

Winona blinked slowly. “I’m sorry. A what?!”

“I told you not to leave your room after midnight.”

For once, he no longer sounded calm. The tension in his voice sent unease crawling down her spine.

Outside the storage room, heavy footsteps echoed faintly through the corridor.

Winona instinctively grabbed Adrian’s sleeve tighter. Neither of them spoke until the sound finally faded away.

Only then did she exhale shakily. “Okay. Either this reality show has crossed several legal boundaries or we’re all about to die.”

Adrian gave a tired laugh under his breath.

“You’re taking this suspiciously well,” Winona muttered.

“You’re taking it surprisingly well too.”

“That’s because panic makes me annoying.”

A faint smile touched his face briefly before disappearing again.

Winona studied him carefully in the darkness. “How do you know all this anyway? You’re just another contestant.”

Adrian hesitated.

Then finally answered quietly, “I’m not completely new to survival stories.”

“What does that mean?”

“I used to write novels before directing films.”

“But this…” Adrian looked toward the closed storage room door. “This isn’t normal.”

Winona crossed her arms. “No offense, but that observation came a little late after the axe comment.”

“I’m serious.”

Something about his expression changed then.

For the first time since meeting him, he looked genuinely unsettled. Like someone trying very hard not to panic.

“Winona,” he said slowly, “you’re probably going to think I’m crazy.”

“Considering tonight, my standards for crazy are flexible.”

Adrian looked directly into her eyes, then he spoke quietly.

“I think I’ve lived this night before.”