Excerpt 3 - Awake

Costumed mannequins, wearing everything from Rococo dresses to the “50’s Housewife,” lined the room and clustered in the center. They had coverings over their heads: burlap sacs sewn to fit the face, or draped with gauze over antlers, or covered in feathers.

One of them might move.

To get to the rest of the exhibits now, she either had to go through or turn around and catch it from the opposite direction. As she turned, though, an Employees Only sign caught her eye.

The door opened with a creak. Sophia checked the costumes for any sign of life before ducking inside and slamming the door. She panted for a moment with her eyes shut. When she opened them a crack, the light hadn’t come on. After waving her arms over her head, she threw the door open again with a hammering heart.

Like so much topiary at the Overlook Hotel, she expected the mannequins to have clustered around the door. Of course, nothing had changed since she’d checked the gallery before. She eyed the figures again, before propping the door open and returning to the dim office.

Unused items crammed the floor. A computer and phone sat on the single desk, files stacked on the floor. An empty closet in the back stood open, yawning darkness. Multiple metal signs leaned against a wall, notices pointing toward restrooms, galleries, a café, and the lobby.

“Damn it,” she whispered. Who the hell took all the signs down?

Sophia picked up the phone, pressed the switch-hook, but no dial tone sounded.

“Why…” Why leave the electricity on and cut the phones?

Awake is available May 27th!