The man removed his soiled gloves and disposed of them in the wastebasket. From the drawer he produced a fresh pair. In the interim, Tyler noticed those hands were mutilated. It was as though the skin had been removed to expose the muscle, sinew and bone. Was this the result of an accident? Or because of a punitive measure?

Tyler was distracted by a couple dressed in formal evening attire passing by, whereas Lauren stared out into the distance unaware of what was going on. He realised that the man and woman would look right at home in an old movie. They appeared to be oblivious to what was going on, but most likely Lauren and Tyler were not important enough to acknowledge. This place has been shuttered since the Great Depression? Right…

“I can assure you, madam, that we have vacancies,” Max said in a painfully formal tone.

“We don’t have any cash…” Kyle tried to say with confidence but his voice trailed off to a whisper.

“No worries, Sir. We accept all major credit cards,” Max said with a smile.

Tyler knew exactly who they were and realised that the shadow of those mountains effectively cut off any chance of escape. A shame that he had been too focused on exposing them to heed their warnings. There’s no way we’re getting out of this alive.

“Now, if you two will follow me,” Max said and did not conceal the underlying threat.

“We don’t have a reservation,” Lauren quipped, though only someone that knew her would pick up the additional trembling in her voice.

Tyler tasted blood in his mouth and his cheek stung like a son-of-a-bitch. The shock from his self-inflicted wound and Lauren’s voice had been enough to wrestle him away from entering that mind trap.

He considered spitting out the blood, but figured these three would get off on that, instead he closed his eyes and swallowed it. The sound echoed throughout the entryway, and for a moment thought he might puke it up, but pushed through. They aren’t going to turn me into the main course.

God, she’s awesome. He was floored that Lauren had been the first one to recover from their collective stupor and drop a witty one-liner.

“Contact! Bravo—” the LT yelled before being eviscerated by an assailant.

“LT!” one of the senior sergeants said before suffering the same fate.

Tyler was back there, he could taste the sand in the air and smell the fresh blood pouring freely from the men. His eyes were wide and wild, unable to focus on a target, because there were so many, and they moved so fast that he could not follow them. 

“I need—” Tyler said. Not now!

“This way, if you please,” an unfamiliar voice said with a foreign accent. 

While the accent was not Transylvanian in nature, the end effect was the same for the group. Their heads turned towards the speaker, as though in slow motion. There they were, just off to the side. Three men dressed in tailored black and white uniforms.

There were two immediately by the doors, whereas a third stood apart. That one had a similar uniform but his olive skin, dark hair, black eyes, and the name ‘Max‘ engraved on a gold name tag. What this one lacked in height, he made with attitude. He’s clearly the one in charge…

Was this their ticket to stardom? Proof of the paranormal? Certainly, this would show the world there were still mysteries left in this world. I wonder if—

One of the main doors opened, seemingly by itself, the sound echoing throughout the courtyard. Inside, there were two rounded staircases besides an expansive hall. Luxury was in the details, the gold trim, intricate carvings, and purity of the marble were a testament to the wealth needed to make this place a reality. What the actual fuck?

It took about an hour to get Kyle cleaned up from the back of the lead truck. He would end up with some bruising, but makeup and a clean shirt sufficed for now.

Since his antics were caught on video, Lauren hijacked his social media accounts and posted this latest blunder. There would be some resentment once he found out, but she knew all would be forgiven once the hits rolled in.

When ready, they assembled a couple of paces away from the invisible doorway. Kyle may have been the star, but it was Tyler who took the lead in dangerous situations.

The host walked up the steps and bolted towards the space between the walls, where the doors once stood.

Before anyone could object, Kyle slammed face-first into an invisible wall. The impact caused him to bounce off and land straight on his ass. I wonder how much money we’d make in blackmail for withholding that video?

Both Lauren and Tyler covered up a smirk prior to converging on Kyle. The host held his nose as blood poured out from between his fingers. While Tyler thought it was funny, he hoped it was not broken, because that would mean going back to the city. Tyler was sure that another crew would swoop in to claim all the glory.

Kyle looked up to the both of them and said, “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” Lauren said with a smirk.

Kyle took a video which had both the viewfinder and the fountain in the frame. He then turned the camera on himself before adopting his well-practised host pose.

“How spooky is that!” Kyle exclaimed. “Here we are in the ruins of an old railway hotel from the Roaring Twenties. From the naked eye, this appeared to be nothing more than an old fountain, now a home for skeeters and frogs.”

He paused before adopting the used-car-salesman smile, then panned the camera. That way he could show to their audience that there was no obvious source for the sound of running water.

“Riddle me this,” Kyle said. “Where’s that trickling sound coming from?”

“Can you hear that?” Lauren asked.

On instinct, Tyler closed his eyes, while letting his jaw hang loose. There was nothing out of the ordinary. The wind was blowing, some birds were chirping, as water trickled playfully into the pool.

“Nothing…wait…running water?” Tyler said.

“Correct,” Lauren replied before turning to face the fountain.

In infrared light, the fountain and the water pouring through the spurts were clear as day. That’s one hell of a trick! Was this some sort of illusion? Or were they peering through a window to the past?