The flashlight beams slit the darkness and illuminated the monstrous machinery that was the internal organs of the hotel.
Enormous laundry machines stood silent along one wall and Juan looked at them warily. In horror movies washing machines always had bad things in them.
Around him, eight armed people began to systematically work their way around the basement, while he moved over to the fuse box.
Katarina walked with him as his guard.
“I hate basements,” he said again.
Standing before the biggest fuse box he had ever seen in his life, he exhaled, then began to check all the fuses.
There was the sharp bark of a gun. Someone said, “Clear. ”
“I hate zombies,” Katarina sighed.
Juan looked around nervously then nodded. “Yes, me, too.
Basements with zombies…much worse. ”
Flashing the light around, he caught sight of what he was looking for. “Supply room. I need fuses. ” He pointed.
Katarina frowned a little. “Great. Closed doors. ”
Juan walked over and knocked on the door.
“What are you doing?”
“If there is one in there, it should flip out and start banging back, right?”
Katarina raised an eyebrow. “You gotta point. ”
Juan knocked again and waited. There was no response.
“I guess it’s clear,” he said, and opened the door.
Immediately, a zombie, lying on the floor, lurched forward and bit into the pointed toe of one of his shitkickers.
Juan jerked back with a startled yelp and Katarina shot it in the head.
She pointed at the zombie's arms. It was a woman dressed up in a flowered dress and highheels. “No hands. Couldn't knock back. ”
“Well, there goes that theory,” Juan said with a frown. He flashed the beam of light around the small supply room, saw that it was clear, stepped in and located the fuses.
In the darkness behind him, he kept hearing people calling out, “Clear” as they moved methodically through the basement.
Juan returned to the fuse box and began replacing the burnt out ones. He worked quickly, safely and efficiently. “That power surge the first day really fucked things up. I wonder what caused it. ”
Katarina continued to watch the darkness, her flashlight making long sweeps and occasionally illuminating the other people in the basement.
“I got it,” Juan exclaimed.
Suddenly, the basement filled with light as the overhead fluorescent tubes lit up. Machinery began to growl to life. Everyone let out a gasp.
“Clear,” someone's voice called out. “All clear. ”
***
In the lobby, Linda turned as the lights came to life, illuminating the rich dark wood and fancy furniture.