Issue 1 Downtime

"Here... let's try this one," Steve said, looking to a room numbered 302.

"Let's see what's inside first. If we don't like what we see we try a different one."

"It's that place. We're never going to like what we see."

"Get ready... anything could be in there," Steve said.

He inserted the circle-topped key into the lock, turned it, and opened the door.

Miss McManus watched nervously.

The usual smell assaults them as the door begins to open, but it is weaker somehow. Then there is a faint blue glow inside. When it fully opens, they see the source of the glow. Drawn all over the walls are arrays of glowing arcane symbols of all sizes. A single array surrounding a large glyph vaguely resembling a butterfly is emblazoned on the inside of the door. Strangely they don't evoke fear or any of the feelings that this evil place seems to inspire.

"What is that?" she wonders out loud, almost running a finger over the symbol on the inside of the door but changing her mind at the last second.

"Don't... don't touch it. We can't trust anything. Stick to the plan, aye?"

Steve stared at the symbol. Hadn't he...

"Yeah," he nodded, heading inside carefully.

"Yes, you're right. Let's go." she says, following Steve.

Miss McManus shook her head and followed them in.

The previously unseen walls of the room are similarly covered in symbols. Stranger still, the conditions of the rooms furnishings are not decayed. A pristine island in a sea of rot.

"This is different... It almost looks safe."

"We can't just accept that."

"Safe or not, this room feels different."

"But anyway... Time for step two?"

"Before something happens, aye."

Steve was about to use the special key on the bathroom door but stopped. Something about the room gnawed at his thoughts.

"I think... we should close the hall door first."

"...why?"

"So it'll just be a normal door when we come out of the bathroom."

"Something like that, yeah. Call it a hunch."

"Alright," she said with a frown and went to shut the door behind them.

The symbols pulse as the door closes and the entire room repairs itself except for a few rusty cracks around the hallway door. The bloody smell vanishes entirely.

"You can barely tell we're in... 'that' place right now..."

"Who... who could even do this?"

"Maybe someone trapped here was some kind of weird priest."

"There's nothing Christian about this..."

"That doesn't make it evil," he said hopefully.

"But... what is this, magic?"

"Considering the keys... Who knows, it just might..."

"Whatever it is, I think we picked the right room," he said, looking again to the bathroom door.

"I still don't think we should stay... on this side of the looking glass... longer than we need to."

"Yeah, let's go and get to the other side again."

Steve inserted the key into bathroom door, turned it, and pushed.

The bathroom beyond is normal with one immediately obvious exception. The mirror is gone.

"Well will you look at that..."

"How odd..." she says, stepping into the bathroom and looking around.

"Someone was in here... I can't imagine the staff wouldn't put that back."

She stepped into the bathroom.

"I just remembered something," Steve said as he entered and closed the door. "Just before I caught that shadow thing using that key on Miss Weaver, when I was in the bathroom, I almost thought I saw something in the mirror. I thought I was being paranoid... but maybe..."

"What do you mean? That it came from the mirror?"

"So someone knows more than us, that isn't on staff..."