Smoke thickened in the air.
The room reeked of scorched metal and blood. Trey's broken body still hung from the splintered mirror. Everyone froze—until the flicker of fire snapped them out of it.
"We have to go—NOW!" Kai shouted, pulling Isabel toward the door.
Valeria ripped the curtain down and smothered a flaming ember on the carpet. Omar kicked the dresser away from the door.
They were panicking. Everyone was.
"Brooke!" Leila called, grabbing her hand. "Come on!"
Brooke turned to run—but the wind sucked through the busted window like a vacuum. The heavy door slammed shut with a metallic clang, separating her from the rest.
"NO!" she pounded on the door. "OPEN IT!"
"Hold on!" Cody grabbed the handle, pulling with all his weight—but it wouldn't budge.
Something unseen was holding it closed. Something intentional.
Inside the Room
Brooke spun around.
The whir of the damaged helicopter above had changed.
It wasn't just idling now—it was dying.
The metal creaked. The rotor blade wobbled dangerously, groaning like the last breath of a giant.
"Please…" Brooke whispered, stepping backward toward the mirror shards.
One final groan.
Then silence.
Then—
CRASH.
The rotor blade tore free, like a monstrous saw, and plummeted straight through the ceiling.
It smashed the broken mirror. Then the bed. Then—
It sliced straight into Brooke, splitting her in half in one horrid flash.
The Explosion
A beat of silence. Then—
BOOM.
The helicopter's fuel ignited.
Flames burst through the hallway wall.
The door the others were pulling on blew off its hinges, throwing everyone backward.
Black smoke rushed toward them. Heat surged. Screams rang out again.
Where Brooke had stood—there was only blood, fire, and a pair of red-stained shoes, perfectly still in the chaos.
Escape Into Ash
Kai pulled Leila off the floor.
"Run!"
They tore down the corridor, coughing through the smoke. The hotel shook. Alarms blared.
"It's the pattern," Leila sobbed, her voice hoarse. "Trey… now Brooke…"
"Who's next?" Valeria whispered.
No one answered.
They didn't need to.
Because Death already knew.
End of Chapter Six