"Damn it." His voice seemed to echo much louder than it was. "Fucking key cards." Finally, the lock clicked open and he pushed his way into the room. A clap of thunder rang out, and the flash of lightning that followed lit up the room. Which was a good thing, since the lights flickered off at that exact moment. "Just my fucking luck," he said as he kicked the door closed. He stood there for a moment, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. Then he remembered the penlight on his key chain. The only problem was that it was buried somewhere in his bag. Feeling around to keep from tripping over anything, he made his way to the bed and dropped his bag. He unzipped the smaller one and felt around in the bottom for his penlight. "I know I put that damn thing in here," he said. After a few more minutes of groping around in his bag, his hand brushed across the light. He pulled it out and flipped it on. The narrow beam of light hardly made any difference, but he was able to see the phone on the bedside table. He thought he could call the front desk and ask if they had a bigger flashlight, candles, anything. Just as he picked up the receiver, someone knocked on the door. He walked over and looked out the peephole. He recognized the desk clerk from earlier. Opening the door, he looked out. "Just checking on all the guests, sir," the clerk said. "Would you like a flashlight or lantern?" He said he would. The man handed him a small battery operated lantern and told him if there was anything else he needed to call the front desk. He thanked him, then asked if there was a pizza place or Chinese restaurant nearby that would deliver. "There's a list in the drawer under the phone, sir." The clerk went on down the walkway, knocking on other doors.

He closed the door and turned the lantern on and placed it on the table. Just a quick trip to the bathroom to answer Mother Nature's call and he would order something for dinner. He was about to open the drawer and find the take-out list when he was speared from behind and knocked to the bed. He struggled for a moment, trying to throw the weight off his back and turn himself over. Then, he caught the scent of the person laying on his back. He stopped struggling and sighed. He felt the weight on his back lift and he flipped over onto his back. In the dim light of the lantern, he saw the brilliance of the green eyes staring back at him.

Read Part 2 of 5