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We walked halfway across the room together before I realized we were still holding hands. It was unnecessary at this point, obviously. Still, I didn’t want to let go.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“For now,” said Boone.
“So why don’t we just—”
“You’ll see.”
Again he led, and I followed. Down into the darkness we went, the stairs creaking loudly beneath our combined weight. We passed into an older section of the hotel, much darker and damper without light filtering in from above. As my eyes adjusted to the shadows, I could make out the shape of a large door at the base of the stairwell.
“This place was built in the middle of fucking nowhere,” Boone said.
“You can say that again.”
“Have you ever wondered why?”
I shrugged one shoulder.
“It bothered me at first, that they’d build two hotels. One here, and the other further up and around the other side of the mountain. But exploring the garage and lower levels last night, I realized something. Something about the temperature.”
Boone opened the door, and a wave of heat washed over us. It felt incredible! Amazing! But it was also very, very bizarre.
“Go ahead,” he told me. “Follow the light.”
Apprehensively, I stepped forward and into the lower level. The floor turned from wood to tile. And at the end of the corridor…
At the end of the corridor was an old oil lamp, dangling from a hook on the wall. A lamp that was lit with a steady, burning flame.
“How in the—”
“I slept down here,” Boone explained. “Last night.”
I advanced forward, fascinated, letting go of his hand. The air in the hallway got even warmer. The floor grew slick. The tiled floor had changed in places to a smooth, flat stone.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked, turning to look back. Wondering if the word ‘hell’ would end up being prophetic, especially considering how hot it was, the deeper we went.
“Go ahead,” said Boone. “Check it out.”
His hair was damp now. A bead of sweat threatened to drip off his nose.
I realized I was no longer cold. My body was flush and warm and pink again, even my fingers, even my toes. Grateful for the comfort, I took another few steps and turned the final corner…
…and couldn’t help but gasp at what I saw.
Twenty-Two
MORGAN
It wasn’t a room I was looking at anymore — it was an enormous, yawning chamber. The bottom half was tiled in some once-beautiful mosaic pattern, impossible to discern. The rest…
The rest looked more like a giant cave, hewn straight out of natural rock.
But the real surprise came as my eyes dropped downward, to where a huge pool of glistening water stretched
from end to end, all the way back to the rear of the cavern. Steam rose up from its placid surface. Steam that fogged the chamber over, making it seem surreal and dreamlike, even while filling it with a wonderful, gratifying warmth.
I wandered forward, stepping over the smooth tiled floor. I saw benches, built into walls. Long smooth areas made for sitting, even a series of smooth rock steps leading down into the piping hot water.
