Under the Stars

“The place where it all began,” I say, remembering Terrence’s words about showing my character. “Although, I’d already spotted you way before that night.”

“The first time you saved my life.” She lifts my hand and spreads her palm over mine. “Not the last.”

“We need to go down, below the stage.”

She takes a deep breath and nods. Our hands unite, and I guide her through the broken steel doors. Large dents and stripped paint make me think a battering ram must’ve been used to break through these in the fire. We go down the short flight of metal stairs to the trap room below the wooden stage. Doors are broken off and burned, leaving holes like Swiss cheese in the stage floor above.

“Did they ever say what caused it?” She’s still whispering. “We were in France when it happened, and I didn’t want to know anything then.”

“Faulty wiring,” I say, shining the flashlight on the door to the hidden suite of rooms. “But the fire department couldn’t rule out arson.”

The closer we get, I see a crack in the door. Behind it is pitch black. Lara’s hand tightens on my bicep, and she pulls back. Stopping, I turn and see her eyes are huge. Her chest is rising and falling rapidly.

“Can you do this?” I ask, taking both her hands.

“I think so.” She isn’t whispering anymore, but her voice is very small. “It’s strange how the memories make it feel so scary.”

“No one’s here but you and me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She nods, and I push the door open. Adrenaline spikes in my veins, and while I meant every word I said to her, I’m also feeling the cold breath of memories sneaking up on us. The last time I was in this place, I found Lara on her knees. A silk mask was in her hand, and she was confused. She’d been drugged, and she thought I was Guy.

Then his thugs found me. They seemed to appear out of nowhere, and I fought…

“I’ve always wanted to find the other entrance. The one they dragged me out. I want to know where it leads.”

“I was only here once. I came in the way we entered.”

Sweeping my flashlight along the floor, the carpets and the wallpaper don’t seem burned. I can see the sprinkler system went off—water stains are on the walls and warped paper is scattered around—but it appears the fire never made it this deep into the structure. I lead us past the room where Lara had been, and instead I go to the very first room I visited in this place.

Pushing the door open, I see the bed against the wall. When my light hits the sheets, Lara pulls my arm back suddenly.

“Oh, God!” she hisses.

The pillow and top portion of the mattress are stained black. They appear to have been drenched in whatever it was… I know what it was.

“Blood,” I say, going toward it.

Lara’s hand slips off my arm, and she stays at the door.

I shine my light all over the mattress, the sheets, then up the wall to the ceiling overhead. When Gavin brought me here the first time, I noticed the little domes for surveillance. I didn’t think he’d keep recordings of the horrors occurring here.

My light lands on a small round disc that looks like a smoke detector. In the center is a tiny black dome. Panasonic is stamped on the outside.

“That’s one.” I shine my light all around it.

I need to find the receiver, the computer that monitored this device. Turning to the door, I see Lara is in the hall clutching the doorjamb. She’s peeking through the door, but she seems shaken.

“Are you okay?” Holding out my hand, I wait for her to put hers in mine.

“That’s where Roland put him after…” Her eyes are wide, haunted as she looks at the bloodstained bed. “So much blood. I never knew.”

No longer waiting for her to put her hand in mine, I step forward and pull her body to my chest.

“You did what you had to do.” She’s shivering, and I hug her tighter.

“I don’t even remember doing it.”

“Let’s go. I need to try and find the computer these cameras fed into. If they’re down here, it’s possible the hard drives weren’t damaged.”