The words are similar to what Lourdes said at the fountain last night. How no one tried to help the victims of the ballroom fire, no one tried to save them. The sentiment is devastating, especially in a moment of complete panic like this. Elias doesn’t appear willing to move until I agree, so I nod weakly, not sure what I’ve just promised him.
There’s a loud crash from Lourdes’s room, and Elias jumps forward. He stops at Lourdes’s door, and then, without a word, he hikes the extinguisher above his head and slams it down, cracking off the handle and sending it flying across the hall.
I press myself to the wall, the scene in front of me too crazy to be real. Elias kicks in the door. I cover my mouth when I catch sight of what’s going on inside. Lourdes is in uniform, sprawled out on the bed, her skin purple and her eyes bulging. Kenneth is straddling her body, his thick hands around her neck. Even from here I’m sure she’s dead, and yet the concierge doesn’t let go. He doesn’t even look at Elias as he stomps in.
Without a word of warning, Elias swings the fire extinguisher, slamming it against Kenneth’s head with a sickening thud. The concierge’s body goes rigid and tilts to the side, he’s completely unconscious when he hits the carpet. Elias drops the extinguisher on the floor and runs a shaky hand through his hair.
I’m stunned in place. I don’t know if Kenneth is dead, if Lourdes is dead. Elias stands in the middle of complete mayhem, his shoulders stooped in exhaustion. “Move,” I whisper to myself, knowing I have to check on Lourdes. Call the cops and get help. “Move,” I say again, pushing off the wall and into the carnage. I go immediately to Lourdes, surprised when she turns to her side, coughing. Her skin is blotchy and the blood vessels in her eyes are broken, blood seeping over the white.
“I’m going to get help,” I tell her, fighting down my panic. I can do this. I’ll be better than I was with Mom. I’ll save Lourdes.
There’s a groan from the floor, and Lourdes and I see Kenneth writhing. Blood pours from the gash in his head, but he doesn’t seem to be dying. Even though he’s a tyrant, I’m grateful. I wouldn’t want Elias to face a murder trial, to possibly go to jail for saving his friend.
Elias backs up, leaning against the interior wall of Lourdes’s room. He drops his arms to his sides, like he’s giving up. The hero who broke in minutes ago is now defeated. He glances at Lourdes and shrugs helplessly. “I’m so sorry,” he says, fighting back a cry. “I tried to save you this time.”
This time, I repeat in my head, knowing now why the staff fears the concierge. This has happened before.
“I know,” Lourdes says to Elias, gasping in a breath. I help her as she struggles to sit up. From the floor Kenneth gurgles, and a thick choking sound fills the room. I turn to Elias.
“We need an ambulance,” I say. “Can you call from here?”
Elias doesn’t acknowledge my voice, only stares down at Kenneth. The concierge is rolling from side to side, desperately in need of medical attention. In my arms, Lourdes trembles uncontrollably. Her color is returning to normal, but she’s mumbling under her breath. It takes a few times for me to catch what she’s saying.
“He never dies,” she whispers in a broken voice over and over. And then, in reaction, Kenneth’s head snaps to us, his eyes staring directly at Lourdes. His face is covered in blood, his head deformed from the impact of the extinguisher. Half dead, he smiles. I scream.
Lourdes jumps from the bed. Bent over and clearly in pain, she stands above Kenneth and shouts at him, “Die! Just die already!” The world has erupted into chaos, and I look at Elias, wanting him to stop it. But he only watches in despair, in complete hopelessness.
Before I can process what’s happening, Lourdes grabs a steak knife from a dirty room-service tray. My eyes widen, and I scream for her to stop, but it happens too quickly. She falls to her knees next to the concierge and buries the knife to its hilt in his chest. He moans, and Lourdes rips the blade out, splashing me in warm blood splatter, and then drives it into his chest again.
The screech that escapes my throat doesn’t sound human. In that moment it’s like I leave my body. The horror, the heat of the blood on my face, has broken me. I run from the room. “Just die!” Lourdes continues to shout. I’m blinded, wiping frantically at the salty tears and blood near my eyes. I head toward the stairwell, reminded of Elias’s words that the Ruby will slow me down.
They just murdered someone. Oh my God. They just murdered someone. I shout for help, running up the stairs as fast as possible. Nothing will ever be the same again. Am I an accessory? Is this my fault because I talked to the staff?
I burst out of the stairwell and into the brightly lit hallway. I’m running for the lobby, glancing down to see my clothes are awash in blood. “Help!” I scream. I take the turn into the lobby and slip from the blood on my sandals. My knee hits the marble floor, sending a vibration up my leg. I call for help and scramble to my feet again, moving toward the desk.