Yesterday's Gone: Season One

here. If we find nothing, then we clear out immediately.”
    Desmond handed each of them a flashlight.
    They headed up the stairwell, which was dimly lit by emergency lights just as the hallways were. Mary got off on the 3rd floor, and started with the first door on the right. Desmond was right. It was smart to search the hotel first, but hard to do when every molecule inside her wanted to run from the hotel on a hunt to pick up Paola’s scent and trail. Because if there was one thing Mary knew in this moment full of unknowns, it was this — her daughter was not in the Drury.
    All the rooms in the first and second hallways were vacant, as were most of the rooms in the third. Then she opened the door to something so terrifying it managed to nudge a new thought in front of her missing daughter.  
    Lying on the floor in the middle of two Queen-sized beds was another of the charred-looking creatures they’d found twitching on the side of the road the day before. Though it looked different — the creature from the day before had been mostly still, quietly vibrating until Desmond and a pair of bullets stopped it forever.  
    This one was alive, animated, waiting.
    Mary had no time to measure the differences between the nightmares before the one at her feet was off the floor and lurching toward her. She screamed, then ran, but not before kicking the creature in its torso, knocking a piece of its flesh to the floor where it splattered in wet chunks.
    Mary slammed the door behind her and screamed, hoping she’d draw attention from the others. The creature hit the door with a hard thud, then wailed in what sounded like a cruel attempt at human agony.
    It’s in pain.
    The thought gave Mary a chill. What if the creatures are victims, fallout from whatever atrocity had obliterated the world? Not that it mattered. Sympathy wouldn’t keep her or Paola alive, and though she felt certain the creature had nothing to do with her daughter’s disappearance, it was a threat.
    Mary opened the door to the stairwell and took the stairs two at a time. She could hear the creature behind her on the other side of the stairwell door. She had a daughter to find and a team to protect; she couldn’t very well lead the creature to them, which is exactly what she’d be doing if she ran to the ground floor.
    The door opened one flight above and the creature writhed into the stairwell. It looked down, saw Mary, then stepped on the first step. She opened the door to the second floor, ran into the hallway, and slammed the door behind her.  
    “John!” she yelled. No answer, the floor felt empty. Mary ducked into the first door across from the stairwell — a moderately-sized supply closet with shelves stocked full with tiny soaps, shampoos, and conditioners. But unless she planned on stabbing the creature with a sewing kit, nothing was useful as a weapon.  
    Three rolling carts were there, however, each fully stocked for a fresh day of cleanup. Mary stepped inside, flicked off her flashlight, and shoved the closest cart against the door.
    Just in time.
    THUD...THUD...THUD...
    The creature threw its body repeatedly against the door, pushing the cart, and Mary, back.
    THUD...THUD...THUD...
    The door inched open, edging the supply cart forward and spilling a seam of warm light into the dark supply room. Mary fell back against the rear wall of the supply closet, and pressed her legs against the cart closest to her, attempting to leverage them against the door to keep the monster out.
    She closed her eyes and thought of Paola.  
    If you’re dead it’s all my fault.
    THUD...THUD...THUD...
    The door opened and closed again, pushing the carts forward before Mary kicked them back, forcing the door shut again.
    THUD...THUD... And then nothing.
    For a moment, silence filled the air as Mary dared to hope the monster went on its way. She held her breath, trying to listen beyond the sound of her thumping heart.
    And then she heard a terrible clicking sound.
    THUD!
    The door smashed open, the carts rolled forward, banging into Mary, as the creature fell into the supply closet screaming and making that god-awful clicking sound. Its head swung back and forth, as if it were searching for Mary, then froze, its black eyes narrowing on her.  
    Fuck.
    She screamed, gripping the handle of the cart closest to her, and thrust the cart forward repeatedly against a second cart, which slammed into the creature.
    The thing screamed, as Mary kept slamming the carts