Night 46: Staff-Only Outdoor Patio Lounging/Eating Area
[From here.]
Cautious, L pushed open the door, peeking around it, scanning the patio and sweeping the beam of his flashlight across it, even glancing above his head.
He didn't see anything, but he knew it was no guarantee that nothing was waiting in the dark. Two nights earlier, in the Entry Room, he hadn't seen the clockwork assassin in spite of having performed the same kind of visual examination; it was as if the man had materialized from thin air. L continued to wonder if his survey had been too cursory. He might always wonder.
He had thought that his own instinct for physical danger was decent, that he was wary and that it served him well. His sense wasn't infallible, and it was far from the only security he relied on. Even so, it had always been useful as both a first line of defense and a last resort.
In this place, it had failed him over and over. There was no sense in paying much attention to a prickle at the nape of his neck and the sensation of being watched when they were both constant companions. Only the escalation of inexplicable dread might be useful, and then, he could not afford to make the mistake of assuming that such an escalation would happen when he needed it.
The next room that he and Howell needed to pass through was the food counter, a short distance to their left and through another door. The sooner they could accomplish it, the better; he only hoped that nothing would be waiting for them inside.
Uneasy, but unwilling to retreat, he stepped onto the patio.
Cautious, L pushed open the door, peeking around it, scanning the patio and sweeping the beam of his flashlight across it, even glancing above his head.
He didn't see anything, but he knew it was no guarantee that nothing was waiting in the dark. Two nights earlier, in the Entry Room, he hadn't seen the clockwork assassin in spite of having performed the same kind of visual examination; it was as if the man had materialized from thin air. L continued to wonder if his survey had been too cursory. He might always wonder.
He had thought that his own instinct for physical danger was decent, that he was wary and that it served him well. His sense wasn't infallible, and it was far from the only security he relied on. Even so, it had always been useful as both a first line of defense and a last resort.
In this place, it had failed him over and over. There was no sense in paying much attention to a prickle at the nape of his neck and the sensation of being watched when they were both constant companions. Only the escalation of inexplicable dread might be useful, and then, he could not afford to make the mistake of assuming that such an escalation would happen when he needed it.
The next room that he and Howell needed to pass through was the food counter, a short distance to their left and through another door. The sooner they could accomplish it, the better; he only hoped that nothing would be waiting for them inside.
Uneasy, but unwilling to retreat, he stepped onto the patio.