Feeling a pang of sympathy for the lonely, nameless man, Kelly decided to go to the kitchen to fetch him a mug of hot chocolate before putting him to sleep. It took her less than ten minutes. But when she returned to Room 114, the ceramic mug nearly slipped from her fingers, splashing hot liquid onto her shoes. The heavy glass window was wide open. Cold rain was pouring onto the carpet, the curtains whipping violently in the freezing wind.
He was gone. The elderly man had climbed out into the eye of the storm. “We have an elopement! Room 114 is missing!” Kelly shouted into her radio, her voice cracking with terror. She threw on a yellow raincoat, grabbed a heavy-duty flashlight, and met Marcus from security at the main exit.
The downpour was deafening. The thick sheets of rain made it almost impossible to see past their own hands, and the mud sucked at their heavy boots. They ran toward the woods, fearing the absolute worst.