Chapter 28
DELILAH
Delilah was about five seconds from storming into Floor Anger again when Heather and John came out. ‘About time,’ she called. ‘I was starting to think you’d got stranded.’
‘I did.’ John half smiled. ‘I got lost in the past. Heather jolted me out of it.’
‘She’s good at that. Helped me on Floor Anger too.’ Delilah offered a high-five to Heather.
As they slapped, Howard said, ‘I got stranded on a desert island once. I was not impressed atoll.’
‘Don’t tempt me to shipwreck you again.’ Lucy looked over at John. ‘Hmm, a pass. Are you ready to go?’
‘I’m ready.’ John sounded a bit more nervous now. ‘We only have one floor left, don’t we? Floor Limbo.’
Delilah gulped, not looking forward to returning to the place she’d nearly died a second time. The lighthearted look dropped off Howard’s face. Delilah recalled that Limbo had been his sin.
She patted his back. ‘We’ll get through it, New Dad, who I always think is funny. If we defeated Barbara, we can defeat lesser shadows. We’ll make sure we carry torches. According to Damien, the test itself sounds easy.’
Nefertiti appeared in the waiting room. Her fur stood on end, and her tail lashed. ‘I am not present, yet I am always near. I fill the room without taking up space. What am I?’
Delilah sweated, not liking how ominous that sounded. ‘Is the answer air? It sounds like air to me. Surely this is a harmless riddle with no deeper meaning.’
‘The answer is nothing.’ Lucy knelt down to pet Nefertiti. ‘Is that a warning, old friend?’
Heather said, ‘I think she’s warning us about everyone who has vanished on Floor Limbo. I checked my desk last time we were on the reception floor, and the alarms were very troubling. We don’t merely have to worry about the test. The floor itself seems on the verge of collapse.’
Jaime flinched and latched on to Heather. ‘I never thought it would get this bad.’
Nefertiti said, ‘Only an immortal may grasp . . . the weight of this time passed.’
‘Eternity.’ Delilah sighed, unable to remain in denial. ‘She’s saying that we could vanish for eternity. Why can’t we have a single easy floor?’ She wagged her finger at the cat. ‘Don’t answer – that was a rhetorical question.’
Floor Limbo had turned eerily silent since the evacuation. Damien stood in the alcove, staring with a sombre expression at the bright light leaking under the door. He muttered, ‘It’s got worse. What are we going to do? There’s no way anyone can pass the test now.’
‘Wanna bet?’ Delilah asked.
‘Gah!’ Damien jumped. She giggled; he looked cute when startled. He looked down on her climbing up the ladder, the others behind. ‘Another successful test?’
‘Yes, we have only Floor Limbo left to go.’
Damien’s expression turned even more serious. ‘I took a peek under the door. Floor Limbo has become empty blank space.’
‘Yeah, Nefertiti came to warn us.’
Damien wet his lips, then took two tries to speak. ‘I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to enter Floor Limbo in its current state. Who knows where you might end up? I’m not even sure if you’ll be able to take the test at all.’
‘It’s not a good idea, but what choice do we have?
’ Delilah sighed. ‘To save the hotel, we need to complete all the trials. We can’t just ignore this situation and close off Limbo.
The other floors are turning dangerous too – John nearly got lost on Floor Violence.
The reception and guest-room floor might not stay safe forever.
The entire hotel has been shaking. This is the only way.
Besides, I’ll be okay now even if I end up in Hell. I own sizeable property there.’
‘I’ve always admired your courage, and I can’t argue with your logic,’ Damien said. ‘Good luck.’
The waiting room was filled with debris from the evacuation: left-over paper cups and some rope.
Delilah swallowed. ‘Is everyone ready?’
‘As ready as I can be,’ John said. The others nodded.
Lucy glared down at the rubbish on the floor. ‘This is disgraceful. My beautiful hotel is a mess. We need to fix everything as quickly as possible.’
Heather asked Jaime, ‘Have you ever passed Floor Limbo before?’
‘Yes,’ Lucy said before Jaime could answer.
Jaime hunched her shoulders. ‘I’ve played on all the floors.’
Firmly, Heather said, ‘Then you’re staying out here with Damien. It’s simply too dangerous.’
Jaime didn’t look happy, but she didn’t argue.
Lucy placed a hand on the doorknob. ‘Hmmm, this floor certainly feels volatile. Everyone, you must stick close to me. That way I can protect you. Floor Limbo is the largest floor, capable of testing many guests at once. We should be able to remain together, as we did on Floor Anger. No stragglers.’ She cast a pointed look at John.
John raised his hands. ‘I’ve already faced down my sin. I won’t run away any longer.’
On those words, they stepped into Floor Limbo together.
From her past time here, Delilah remembered Floor Limbo as resembling an office building full of cubicles.
Now most of the cubicles had been knocked over.
Many of the desks had been removed because people had been using them as anchors in the waiting room, fixing rope to the heaviest furniture before climbing.
The water cooler had turned over, dripping across the grey carpet.
A brilliant being floated over. Delilah jumped, a shaky hand drawing her torch.
But this did not seem like one of the shadows – it had been made of light in a humanoid form.
It bowed down to Lucy. The hands were so bright that it was difficult to look directly at them.
Fingers flashed in a pattern Delilah found vaguely familiar.
She blinked away tears from staring into the light. ‘Is that sign language?’
Lucy said, ‘Yes. They said, “What a relief to see you, ma’am. The floor has been consumed by nothingness.”’
While she was translating, the hands pointed Heather and John to the exit.
Nervously, John asked, ‘I thought we weren’t supposed to be separated?’
‘This is a good thing,’ Lucy said. ‘You two don’t have any dilemmas trapping your minds. You’ve passed.’
Heather nodded. ‘I already made my decision to stay with Jaime, even if I passed my trial.’
‘And I . . . have worked through some issues and made up my mind on an important matter,’ John said.
Lucy frowned. ‘I am very surprised that I’m not an automatic pass too. I’m never indecisive.’
The brilliant being grovelled all the way to the floor, but did not gesture Lucy to the exit. ‘Humph.’ Lucy stuck her nose up in the air.
‘Good luck,’ Heather said, then left through the door together with John.
Paper appeared in the being’s hands, as if out of thin air. The being bowed before handing the paper to Delilah.
Lucy translated: ‘They are honoured to meet you.’
‘Huh.’ Delilah took the paper. To Howard, she whispered, ‘Are they this polite to everyone?’
‘Not at all,’ he whispered back. ‘You do have a title now . . . and then there’s your connection to Lucy.’
‘Is Lucy a big deal in Hell?’
Howard’s smile was mysterious. ‘Kinda big deal, yes.’
The being gestured to them to go to one of the few cubicles left standing.
Lucy said, ‘No, we’ll be sticking together. I know usually we allow guests some privacy, but under the current circumstances it’s too dangerous.’
Delilah looked down at her paper. It had a single question: Do you want to stay in the Purgatory Hotel for Wayward Ghosts or leave and go to Heaven?
She swallowed. Once she’d told Damien that Limbo sounded like a boring and easy floor. But it all depended on the question you got asked. It felt different when it was a question near and dear to your heart.
Looking up, Delilah asked, ‘Can I have a pencil?’
The being’s fingers flashed.
Lucy said, ‘It appears that the pencils were all consumed by the expanding void. We’ll have to give our answers aloud. It shouldn’t be any trouble . . .’ She glanced down at her paper. Her cheeks paled. ‘Bloody Heaven. Well. Do we truly need anyone besides John in the engine room?’
‘You’re the second most important person after John,’ Delilah said.
‘I’ll go first. I don’t know if I’m ready to leave the hotel yet.
I was determined to go to Heaven as fast as possible.
But proving my egg donor wrong no longer matters as much to me.
And I’ve been having fun here. I would hate to leave everyone behind.
Especially Damien . . . but, on the other hand, can I make such a huge decision based on a fleeting encounter?
Do I truly want to pass up my chance to go to Heaven?
The water fountain here doesn’t even work! I need more time to decide.’
The paper in her hand vanished.
‘Did I fail?’ Delilah asked, biting her lip.
‘No, you passed.’ Lucy smiled. ‘It’s fine if you don’t have all the answers to your life figured out. You’re still young – by my standards, you’re a baby. What matters is that you gave an honest answer. If you’d lied, then you would have failed.’
‘Oh, no . . .’ Howard stared down at his paper. ‘I was going to lie.’
Lucy nudged him. ‘Get on with it – it’s your turn.’
Howard looked at the ceiling. ‘Would being trapped in Limbo forever be so bad?’
A groaning sound came from the back of the office. Pure darkness poured forward, swallowing up the closest cubicles.
Delilah shone her flashlight on it. Nothing happened.
The being of light gestured, then vanished.
Lucy said, ‘They have evacuated, and they advise we leave as quickly as possible. Light can no longer stop the shadows; they have grown too strong. We can only run.’
Howard tugged on his collar. ‘I still have time.’
The darkness was creeping forward at a slow yet implacable rate, eating up the carpet.
Delilah said, ‘We might have fifteen minutes of time. Better not to dawdle.’
Howard opened his mouth.
Lucy raised a hand. ‘You had better not be about to make a joke.’
Howard closed his mouth.
‘We won’t judge,’ Delilah said. ‘We’ve seen the best and worst of each other throughout these trials. Also. Uh. The darkness? It’s getting closer.’
Howard’s throat bobbed. He clenched the paper between his hands, crumpling it. ‘What a time for me to become a coward. If only this was an enemy I could fight. I’m scared this will change everything. Oh, to hell with it.’
He turned around his paper to reveal the question: Do you love Lucy?
‘The answer is yes,’ Howard said hoarsely.
‘Lucy, I love you beyond reason. You are my Heaven. I refused to ever take my test because I didn’t want to ascend to a place where you could not go.
My heart pounded when you locked me in a coffin.
I thought at the time that it was terror.
It took me years to understand that I’d fallen in love.
You’ve stolen my heart, a just payment for the ring I stole from you so many years ago.
I have no expectations that an enchanting and extraordinary being such as yourself would ever love an ordinary mortal like me.
If you can forget what I just said, then I will never speak of it again.
’ He closed his eyes. ‘I hope we can remain friends.’
‘How can I forget?’ Lucy stepped forward. The air around her smelled fresh, as if after a storm. She glowed with light, overflowing from her eyes. ‘My question was the same as yours. I, too, have been trapped in fear of ruining our friendship by expressing my feelings. I love you, Howard.’
He dared open his eyes. Even with the power of the sun seeming to overflow from her face, he did not look away. He stepped forward, resting his forehead against hers. It was somehow more intimate than a kiss.
‘I’m too old and ordinary for you,’ he murmured.
‘I have met many beings, and you are the most extraordinary.’ She chuckled.
‘I’m far older than you, foolish mortal.
’ Her appearance shifted, flickering between a beautiful maiden and an equally beautiful elderly queen.
A flash of pointed chin and beard appeared in between.
Briefly there was a shadowy creature, a mixture of fire and scales.
‘We are in the afterlife. You can look like whatever you desire. You’ve only taken on the form of your most recent body in life out of habit. ’
‘Oh!’ Howard’s eyes widened. He shifted, his spine straightening and wrinkles fading. Suddenly strawberry blond hair fell to his shoulders. ‘Ah, that feels better. My youthful knees are back.’
Delilah took this opportunity to erase an old scar on her arm left by a jellyfish. Remarkable! It worked!
Lucy caressed his new face, settling back into her original body. ‘I never thought you could return my feelings after I tried to drag you to Hell so many times.’
‘I’d lay siege to the gates of Hell to be with you.’ Howard placed his hand on top of hers.
‘We’ve both been fools.’ Lucy leaned so close they could inhale each other’s breath. ‘We wasted time . . . but now we have an eternity ahead of us.’
Delilah coughed loudly. ‘I hate to break up the romantic moment, but we won’t have very much time at all if Limbo swallows us all!’
The darkness consumed the water cooler with a gurgle.
‘Our child is smart,’ Lucy said with a laugh, offering her hand.
‘I can’t believe that we adopted a daughter together before we admitted our feelings. We’re a pair of disasters.’ Howard took Lucy’s hand.
Together, they plunged through the door.
The familiar waiting room was a welcome sight. Lucy turned to speak to the others. ‘Our entire group has passed all seven floors! We can finally make it to the engine room and repair my precious hotel. This calls for a group hug.’
Delilah pointed over Lucy’s shoulder. ‘Look out!’
The darkness ate through the door and poured out at them like waves of blackness.