A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Revisited)
The man stood on the sidewalk staring across the wreckage with the rest of them. The hotel had come crashing down before their eyes as if it had given up it's will to stand. As far as they knew, it had no reason to do so. The building inspectors had been through recently and could find no sign to fault it, certainly not condemn it. Yet, in a matter of seconds, all nine floors had collapsed without any sign of warning.
That the building was old, there was no doubt. It was constructed sometime during the '30s. Though when exactly no one could remember. As with many old buildings this one had its share of oddities. For one, no one could remember ever seeing an erection date anywhere on the building, nor had anyone questioned the lack of it. It could have been that it was once a fancy home, however, that seemed implausible due to the Great Depression at the time. Some thought it was haunted, and perhaps that was true. Many buildings of that ages were reported to be haunted by something or another, although, the few whom had ever stayed there ever mentioned anything close to a haunting.
No one knew who owned the hotel, not that it mattered much now that it was a pile of crushed brick and wood, yet it was odd that no one seemed to ask about this. At four hundred dollars a night, few except the excessively wealthy had ever stayed, not that there was any reason to book the hotel. It was not in a big city or near any points of interest. Why it was there in the first place was just as much an enigma as why it collapsed.
And yet now that it was gone, they cared. Was anyone in there? They asked themselves. What happened? Why? The when could be answered easily. 11:06 AM on January 1st, 1998. The man knew the signiface of this: 666 years since the Indian black plague epidemic in 1332; 666 minutes into the new year; The address was 666 Devils Dr; and, not including himself, there were 666 people living in this town, twelve of which were standing next to him. The man was there because he knew of this place. He had seen it in his dreams. And he had come to watch it fall. He knew what had happened inside prior and during the collapse the building which shouldn't have been there. He knew what was to happen after as well.
He knew that the woman next to him would cry out "What is that?" while looking across the ruins of the building. He knew her next words would be, "My God its a little girl!" He knew she would climb the black fence surrounding the property and pick her way through the rubble pleading, "Little girl, come out of there!" He knew she would see blood on the girl's blouse and throat and face, and cry out to them "My God she's bleeding, someone call an ambulance." He knew she would crouch down and ask the girl a question, presumably if she were alright. He knew he was the only one left waiting to watch as the woman looked up at him and pleaded, "What are you waiting for?"
And he knew the creature would tear the woman's throat out shortly after.
That the building was old, there was no doubt. It was constructed sometime during the '30s. Though when exactly no one could remember. As with many old buildings this one had its share of oddities. For one, no one could remember ever seeing an erection date anywhere on the building, nor had anyone questioned the lack of it. It could have been that it was once a fancy home, however, that seemed implausible due to the Great Depression at the time. Some thought it was haunted, and perhaps that was true. Many buildings of that ages were reported to be haunted by something or another, although, the few whom had ever stayed there ever mentioned anything close to a haunting.
No one knew who owned the hotel, not that it mattered much now that it was a pile of crushed brick and wood, yet it was odd that no one seemed to ask about this. At four hundred dollars a night, few except the excessively wealthy had ever stayed, not that there was any reason to book the hotel. It was not in a big city or near any points of interest. Why it was there in the first place was just as much an enigma as why it collapsed.
And yet now that it was gone, they cared. Was anyone in there? They asked themselves. What happened? Why? The when could be answered easily. 11:06 AM on January 1st, 1998. The man knew the signiface of this: 666 years since the Indian black plague epidemic in 1332; 666 minutes into the new year; The address was 666 Devils Dr; and, not including himself, there were 666 people living in this town, twelve of which were standing next to him. The man was there because he knew of this place. He had seen it in his dreams. And he had come to watch it fall. He knew what had happened inside prior and during the collapse the building which shouldn't have been there. He knew what was to happen after as well.
He knew that the woman next to him would cry out "What is that?" while looking across the ruins of the building. He knew her next words would be, "My God its a little girl!" He knew she would climb the black fence surrounding the property and pick her way through the rubble pleading, "Little girl, come out of there!" He knew she would see blood on the girl's blouse and throat and face, and cry out to them "My God she's bleeding, someone call an ambulance." He knew she would crouch down and ask the girl a question, presumably if she were alright. He knew he was the only one left waiting to watch as the woman looked up at him and pleaded, "What are you waiting for?"
And he knew the creature would tear the woman's throat out shortly after.