Chapter 13
DELILAH
As Delilah led Howard to the lift shaft, she told him, ‘The lift attendant is a good friend of mine. He’s very smart and experienced. I’m sure if anyone can help us figure out how to move between the hotel floors then it’s him.’
Together, they forced the door open. The shaft went very, very far down. Delilah gulped.
Something fell past her nose, making her jump back. ‘What in Purgatory . . .’
‘It’s raining sweets.’ Howard leaned forward and snatched a falling lollipop. ‘Ginger beer? I hate that flavour. Would you like it?’
‘Sure.’
Just as Delilah accepted the lollipop, a horrific scream echoed down the lift shaft like a thousand murderers shrieking in unison as they fell into Hell.
‘Gah!’ Delilah gripped Howard’s arms. ‘Is Hell invading us?’
‘Actually, the sound seemed to be coming from above.’ Howard’s eyes became distant with memory. ‘That sounded exactly like someone who has finally snapped after decades in customer service.’
Delilah snapped her fingers. ‘Oooh, you’ve worked in customer service too? I used to be a cashier at a bookshop.’
‘I worked as a waiter on a cruise ship for two years. Far from my favourite job, but I was hiding from someone who prefers fire to water. Let me tell you, jobs like that get even worse when you’re stuck on the ocean with rich entitled people all around you and nowhere to run.’
‘You win.’
They high-fived.
Actually, the scream had sounded rather like Heather. Delilah hoped everything was all right in reception . . . even though she knew that it was probably a nightmare of dissatisfied guests.
‘Can you hold on to me while I call for Damien?’ Delilah asked. ‘I’m scared of falling in.’
‘An entirely reasonable precaution.’ Howard took her arm in a double grip at the elbow for maximum safety. He stood sideways, as if he didn’t want to turn his back on either the door in front or behind.
Bending over the shaft, Delilah shouted. ‘Damien?’
‘Delilah?’ His voice drifted up faintly.
She exhaled. ‘Thank goodness you’re all right. Er, you sound very far down.’
‘Yup,’ he replied glumly.
‘You couldn’t make it to maintenance?’
‘I made it. Godfrey wouldn’t help me.’
Delilah closed her eyes and bit back a curse. ‘Do we have a Plan B?’
‘It’s a work in progress.’
‘Hey, it sounds like your voice is getting louder.’
‘I’m coming towards you as fast as I can.’ Damien appeared out of the shadows, climbing up a ladder at a supernatural pace.
Delilah laughed in delight. ‘There’s a maintenance ladder! Brilliant.’
He glanced up at her with a shy smile. ‘After three decades in this hotel, I never even knew this was here. I can’t take credit, Nefertiti found it.
She’s been around far longer than me. Maybe even since the beginning of the hotel.
’ He kept on climbing until he reached her level.
His cheeks had grown more wan since she’d last seen him.
His cap sat askew, his clothing looked rumpled and a lollipop was stuck to his shoulder.
Delilah coughed. ‘You’ve got a sweet on your right shoulder.’
‘Drat. Thanks.’ He yanked it off, then let it drop into the darkness. If it ever hit the bottom, there was no sound.
‘Can I climb up the ladder to Heaven?’ Delilah asked, on the basis that it would be worth a try.
Damien sat down in an alcove directly across from her. Self-consciously, he removed his cap and smoothed out his hair. ‘The ladder stops here at Floor Limbo. It doesn’t reach Heaven.’
‘That makes sense.’ Delilah crossed her arms. ‘Back to Plan A. We need to somehow get your lift fixed so that I can obtain my eternal reward and prove my mother wrong.’ She stepped back and released Howard’s arm. ‘I’ve recruited an ally for our quest.’
Damien waved. ‘Hello, Howard. I haven’t seen you in a while. I was starting to think you gave up on taking your test. I wouldn’t blame you. Limbo is the worst test, in my very biased opinion.’
Howard shrugged. ‘I tried to explore Limbo out of curiosity, then managed to get lost even before the floor started expanding uncontrollably. It’s a very strange place. Since it’s one of the floors where more than one person can take the test at once, I got to meet all kinds of interesting people.’
Delilah cast a surprised glance at Howard. She wouldn’t have guessed Limbo would be his sin, even though in retrospect it explained why he’d been on the floor. He had seemed quite decisive when he’d rescued her. But then she didn’t know him very well. It would probably be rude to ask why.
‘Thanks for finding the ladder, Damien,’ Howard continued. ‘You’re a true hero. We’ve got a lot of scared people on Floor Limbo who need a way out. People have been vanishing from here.’
‘Really?’ Damien’s eyes widened. ‘I didn’t even realise that would be possible.’
‘I saw a man get eaten by a shadow before my very eyes.’ Delilah shuddered. The memory would haunt her for a long time. ‘The floor has been expanding, and the lights keep going out. I fear everyone might be consumed if they remain stuck here. There’s no time to waste.’
Howard raised his hand. ‘I’ll tell everyone on Floor Limbo about the ladder. I know most people here. They trust me. I’ll make certain to guide everyone to safety. Then I can meet you on the reception floor afterwards.’
Damien said, ‘I’ll guide the evacuation.’
‘I’ll head to reception and look for Heather,’ Delilah said. ‘I heard her screaming. I’m worried she might have got into trouble . . . or she might be about to make trouble for someone else.’
Howard said, ‘I can’t trust ladders. They’re always up to something.’
Damien groaned and Delilah laughed.
By the time Heather had poured out her entire story, Delilah was ready to scream down the lift shaft too. ‘I knew Godfrey was useless, and now he’s tainted the entire crew. Why did the previous manager hire him?’
‘I dunno. It happened before I came here.’ Heather lay her head down on her desk. ‘What am I going to do?’ Her voice sounded close to breaking. ‘Jaime vanished to eat sweets, we need a plan by the time she gets back. I don’t want to worry her.’
Delilah patted Heather’s back. ‘Don’t give up. I have an idea. I’ve bumped into someone who has met the designer of the hotel.’
Heather’s head shot up. ‘Really?’
‘Yeah, do you know Howard?’
‘I know every guest in this hotel. He’s a bit of a joker. Are you sure he’s serious?’
‘I had to force the information out of him. I think it’s legit.’ Delilah sighed. ‘What other options do we have at this point?’
‘Not many,’ Heather admitted. ‘It would have been satisfying to beat Godfrey with a table, but it wouldn’t have helped and might have cost me my job.
But I would enjoy it so much, and nobody here has the authority to demote me .
. .’ A low growl rose up from her throat.
Her nails dug into the wood. The pencils on her desk rattled.
Delilah thought Heather should find a better outlet for this rage before it exploded again.
‘Before we start searching, can you help me with something? Damien’s lift fell to the bottom floor, and he can’t leave the shaft.
I’m worried about him, stuck alone in the darkness.
Do you think we can at least drag the lift up? ’
Heather raised her head off the desk. ‘I’d be willing to try. I’m dead – it’s not as if I can throw my back out.’
‘But first we’d better guide the guests returning from Limbo.’
‘There are people coming down from Limbo?’
Delilah winced, hating to be the bearer of more difficult news. ‘Yeah, and they aren’t going to be happy. That floor has turned into a nightmare.’
Before she could explain the full story, the first guest climbed down the ladder, wild-eyed and panting.
Together, Heather and Delilah handed out cups of water to the frantic escapees from Floor Limbo. The ladder quickly turned into a traffic jam, with everyone desperate to flee as fast as possible. They climbed with rope tied round their waists so they could catch each other if they fell.
Delilah waved people in as Heather prepared cups. ‘Everyone, move slowly and safely. Don’t rush it. We have snacks and water on the reception floor.’
As it turned out, most people were too scared to lodge complaints. They just wanted to return to their rooms and keep all the lights on.
After checking in the final guest who hadn’t got a room yet, Heather, Delilah, Howard and Damien all slumped in various states of exhaustion. Heather lay on her desk, Howard flopped in a chair, Delilah guzzled from the water cooler and Damien leaned on the wall inside the lift shaft.
Delilah recovered first. ‘All right, time to figure out how to lift Damien’s lift. Just look at him – he’s the only person who doesn’t have anywhere to sit.’
Damien blinked. ‘I appreciate the thought, but that’s not possible.’
‘Wanna bet?’
‘Are you serious?’
Delilah winked. ‘I’m always serious about betting.’
‘Heave!’ Delilah shouted, gripping the rope.
‘Ho!’ came from Howard, Heather and Jaime in the very back.
Hand over hand, they yanked on the rope attached to the lift. Delilah pulled until her back was bent over and her face looking up at the ceiling lights.
Gradually, the lift groaned and rose from the depths.
Delilah kept putting one hand over another until her palms burned. She found that if she didn’t think about it she could surpass her physical limitations from life more easily. The mindless repetition of the task took over. The scream of metal became louder, overwhelming their cries of, ‘Heave-ho!’
Finally, Damien shouted, ‘Stop! You’ve got it to the reception floor.’
They tied up the rope so that the lift hung exactly at the entrance to the floor: unable to move, but at least in place.
Damien stepped carefully from the lift-shaft ladder on to the top of the lift and slid down the emergency hatch, landing on a pile of sweets.
‘Phew, it feels great to have lights again.’ He patted the wall.
‘This place feels like home. A home I’ve got sick of, but still.
Now I have somewhere to rest. Thank you, everyone. ’