.
Dreadhorse Chapter 15
.
The elevator dinged softly, opening to reveal the third floor corridor. Lor stepped out cautiously, with Kel following close behind. The vial inside his pocket felt like a weighty secret, burdening his mind with questions. How did it end up here in a family-friendly resort? What was the tense woman’s connection to the military man?
The tick of their room door unlocking jolted Lor from his thoughts. He slid the card into the lock and ushered Kel in. The room was spacious yet cozy, with a large window offering a view of the sprawling countryside. Lor went directly to the bedside table and carefully placed the vial on its surface.
“Kel, how about you freshen up, and I’ll order us some dinner?” Lor suggested, trying to maintain a sense of normalcy.
As Kel disappeared into the bathroom, Lor couldn’t help but study the vial once more. The liquid seemed to change shades gently, catching the refracted light and creating chaotic patterns. Each swirl told him it was no ordinary liquid. Could it be linked to a conspiracy? As a politician, he’d heard hushed whispers in corridors of power yet had no proof until perhaps now.
His phone buzzed, pulling him from his thoughts. It was a message from an unknown number: *Stay out of it or else.*
Lor’s finger hovered over his phone, hesitating between deleting the message or calling for help. Before he could decide, the hotel room lights flickered and went out, casting the room into darkness. Outside, a storm rumbled ominously, but it didn’t feel like a typical power outage. It felt targeted.
He heard static from the television that he hadn’t turned on. The screen glowed dimly, filled with digital noise before a message appeared: *UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED… NEUTRALIZING RISK.*
Panic spiked within Lor. The glitch wasn’t natural. Someone was controlling this, someone who knew about the vial and the potential truth. The room remained silent, save for the erratic buzz of the television and the drumming rain outside. Kel peeked out of the bathroom, her eyes wide with fear.
“Daddy, what’s happening?”
“It’s just a glitch, sweetheart,” Lor reassured her, trying to mask his own fear. But he knew better; something was happening outside his control.
He rushed to the window, peering through the raindrops cascading down the glass. He could just make out the figures of the woman and the man below, their eyes scanning for something—or someone.
With every passing moment, he felt his grip on the narrative slipping away. Before he could devise a plan, a loud crash echoed from the hallway, followed by hurried footsteps.
Kel’s hand slipped into his as they both took a step back towards the room’s bathroom, ready to hide if they needed. Someone was coming, and he realized, too late, that his snooping hadn’t gone unnoticed. Their only option was to delve deeper into the danger unfolding around them.
As the footsteps grew louder, each thump like a ticking clock, Lor understood they were in it far deeper than a misplaced vial; he sensed a much bigger conspiracy at play. His political ambitions and safety of his daughter were now intertwined in a dangerous dance with unknown players. But one thing stayed clear in his mind—it was no longer just about him uncovering the truth but about surviving its consequences.