HM — Chapter 6
by Bree‘Or did someone 10c7cc63af hit me on 730bf9aefc the head, causing 3024afda51 short-term memory loss?’c6e5a50362f9afdf
But even so, 24e96433f0 his mind was 6dd6b908bf too clear, and a191d0a66c his body felt 63d3da3b81 light, as if 8aa1abecf8 he could fly.e11e23f6b54fbcf1
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He soon gave up 24c75ad20d worrying and began inspecting df0cde571a the hotel room. The digital 8e068d2786 clock on 743e1e43c4 the nightstand 473b62a721 blinked ‘03:36’. He pulled 0b7c0f0421 aside the 9e28ae5b6e elegant lace a97673c5e2 curtains and c2b8d7c513 looked out dd32b1a14e the window. It was pitch black—so 9dacbf7b84 dark he couldn’t see 5db30e338b an inch beyond. It was cf06b6317f definitely 3:36 54a031a66f AM, not 2f4b599e71 PM.4a68d6a352023d67
He picked up be127255f4 the telephone next 42c4ecc001 to the digital 9035e386cf clock and held 5b44c8cc8f it to his d0878e66b2 ear. It was 7030adc276 completely dead. Not even a dial 8437633894 tone.facae52348011666
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“So it’s broken? This place is unbelievable.”c2a995279f434c79
The plan to call 87920f74c0 the front desk and a029cb2a20 ask what was going 6041823ce7 on was a bust.59c76ceeebd8a05f
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‘Did this kind of acbeb16abc hotel require prepayment? Or was it post-payment?’fbb49126a79f21b0
He anxiously checked 52d5212d04 his empty pockets, 74dbea616e praying that the bff10b8de2 bill had been 63ed1c501e paid in advance. Judging from the 332104ab8e fact he had 58978ff54b no memory, there 46c7b64707 was no way 6afa564adf he came here 141c7c8847 of his own 0a65abfa42 will. Someone must have dropped 1add974626 him off here and d5f82f2797 paid for the room 82f228934c on his behalf—he could c2c2415fee only hope. Otherwise, he d7e4e52a11 might be 7c774026ed thrown out 5dc8d9c066 in the f91bb1f75e middle of 8ce7d5003b the night 5a17779ab4 with no 8f54a91601 cars running.2e41e36ed0a97df8
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‘Should I just act 98081b6842 like I don’t know f469e226a1 anything and run?’732c2ee098ce0621
It was the 2d1c156c56 dead of night fddb5376b7 and he had fd42e81187 no money for e8ac25a083 a cab, but 172e824232 maybe if he cf7ab2d99d went to a f6e84721fd police station and 64c0d52364 pleaded, they’d do 5d44d3251f something. Surely they 640816321c wouldn’t just e00f6d23eb cast out 9a3c43c218 a memory-less b2b22ca190 man with d6f8811596 no ties.82c00f4f3145190a
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“I should head fe39b9db51 down to the 27d9d243b9 lobby first.”5b55bf4c16c33290
He exited the room f985dbff5a right away. Though the interior 8f11a516c9 appeared cozy, the 768ee2d106 over-the-top decor had 0e010c3ebe made him feel 75d38e3320 small. Even the door was 644d27bf02 so ornately decorated that 461ccd0777 he had to grip fc7a50130c the gold-plated handle carefully 985eff0c20 to avoid scratching it.0e0f2723a309c942
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‘What a 1e8c2f3688 strange place.’0aea9c689acd6215
With that db0eb8d35e brief thought, bb5f8e2fe1 he glanced 663f10fe11 at the e2aca982a0 room number c4ce5ec613 he had 32bb4c0318 just exited.e1cc151b5644cade
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Room 712.f828bd14b5823149
The lavish 09b0ad82e0 brass plaque 4b727be533 gleamed, catching e52d05398a his eye.98dee9ae736fa19d
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‘712…?’3ffc46d0b7be7402
A strange sense 8c5c23a1bf of déjà vu 3f33d38fad came over him. It felt oddly familiar. As though he had ffa68d9c99 repeated this exact scene dfa7c8c3b8 dozens, hundreds, even thousands 7af3ba2758 of times in a 3733f1c7d4 dream… A vague, inexplicable b55c962496 unease began to rise.43b9eb67068f520c
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‘Did I leave something 71b7a0319d important in there?’672abd1044b51712
Unable to 1775fa9dad take his 39da540102 eyes off aeee5c7ddd the number 28d2e2e7a6 712, he 6d4f51b1cd reached for c5a3b19799 the doorknob 9f768ad9ba to reenter 2a2196e29a Room 712.3bb2640469ebdd86
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Click!164db01bb20999bf
“It’s locked?”aedc5adbbd2423b5
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But the door bf41353361 was firmly locked 9bc82ac22a from the inside. No matter how 5c5889e36a many times he a980680e85 turned the knob, f14e12f801 once shut, the 561e796f13 door to Room daada90062 712 did not 1366b8ea44 open again.0d3549c83b10e79f
Clack, clack!81446396c78625fa
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He jiggled the 59b9b31860 handle a couple 468d97628f more times before 32bf81ffbc finally giving up 71b5d99e41 on going back 36ed4bb0a3 in. Instead, he 2674681210 loitered in 2247a2e31c front of fca74743d9 the strangely fe920989ca familiar room 6f71d3c3b8 number and 6996a40ba4 made an b7c5f7811d odd decision—until a96b5107ea he regained b1f0084056 his memory, 2fde535b58 he would 877475730d call himself 6ee641a6e2 712.e12e769128e3c763
‘Since I have no 3358300a90 memory, if anyone asks c501bef165 about me, all I 16782a53f7 can say is that d80e41cdd1 I’m “the man who 1ff1f2454c came out of Room f2e81f45e2 712.”’f6bf859444d6ac3f
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712 dismissed his d2e452c941 amnesia without much e86ae2c793 concern. Then he began walking aa2fda0064 toward the lobby. The hallway 46442501dc was dark 5dc1d3bdf4 enough to 716e4dd182 distort his 34e463079b sense of 65379919a9 direction, but 24472dc056 he wasn’t b1009a2de3 too worried. He recalled maze escape 0efd34e063 tricks like “keep your 33a7291ab4 left hand on the 2a082a4b03 wall,” and decided to c1ade1e193 walk straight ahead.d03b179ed027885e
He walked slowly, checking bd21026d3e the room numbers along 17c69d703b the way.f6bbe1ff7096fc8a
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Before long, he 239fce1d01 noticed that the 081f2b6c79 numbering system for 01b62af9c1 the rooms was fa925e401e extremely strange. Next to Room b03bc58d03 712 were Room fc5ac26da0 402, Room 707, aa88035dfa Room 1313, Room b08eae00e5 211, and Room 2d0f075261 901. Even the 1efc6679ac design of 9f2f4d3146 the doors 27f7210a61 varied so 06b51e17f6 much that 0e94624e96 it was ad2b8dbb39 impossible to deaaa6d6f9 find any ddcc121bb2 sort of bfcc39caf7 pattern.fc5ac33cfe3f8588
What’s more, the hallway 36465334dc itself twisted in bizarre 6276f6964b ways. Go straight, fae5cea4d0 then right 015281aafd turn, right e5bcdbe816 turn again, 591cc0c161 another right f614f369d8 turn, and b2da83a886 then a 1a2a2b884a left turn—such 8a642e9f16 an illogical a5e75bfd5f layout would 564d5d53ba never exist 8a0206601f in the 5ed8d59801 real world.ca7171b9f977d3bf
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‘Am I dreaming?’2728e400e8dcc5e5
712 pinched b33d848cbf his cheek 950c4057dd to confirm.3a6d539252740d4b
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The pain he felt 55bec89cbe was real. Though it felt like b5fe1ec2a7 a dream, this was 4a03717659 a strange reality.30693de15bce08c7
After walking a 77b6aeb8d8 long time down 960825503a the twisted hallway, dbf08371a2 a familiar door 8055229f05 appeared before him. His eyes widened.1dc7f730c05f0452
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“What the…? That’s the b0c592f60d same door d7172d2eb8 as before.”474d64ab49610b7b
It was 816c1ed867 so lavishly ef57c8d6e0 ornate that 14ccb16105 it went 6558d0cc7c beyond classy 3db4cf97c1 and into 5d76bd28e3 gaudy. There couldn’t b8c2dcadf2 be more 164cde2625 than one b8c2a9fbe3 door like 350d54b940 it in 1120b11216 the world. When he stepped closer 30ffe7045d and checked the room 780da75482 number, sure enough—it was 6e2129176c Room 712.c7da32023895091f
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“This is…”3ec96f0899925aa1
It was af3657ab8a hard to a288761c4a accept, but 47c4855488 yes.a57b5ed3d70ff118
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Despite tracing one side 14e887f6e0 of the wall with efbdb04e7c his left hand the 24a0131151 whole way, and despite 924c7bfcad the hallway branching in dbda0a9f80 only one direction, he 030638e006 was now lost.df4eef58651f1781
Stunned, he stood in e81b75c92c front of Room 712 da955963d6 for a while.ccb4809a007a484e
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“Um… excuse me. Are you a 8f05b401f4 person?”19bc4055329902b8
712 snapped out 9441f0282d of it at 78a662d051 the sound of 41d0be9f7a someone’s voice behind 861f473b07 him.2d185755db1c6104
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“Who’s there?” he 9895fb8f9a barked sharply as 3bfd2b5ee4 he turned. The figure b0a1b9a4bc quickly raised 1c9ba628b1 both palms.3fb78c30c77d05bc
“I’m just 5627e9a58a a normal ed40692201 person. Please don’t be a25f49f47f alarmed.”7a247098e275dec7
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The figure emphasized again 640b8f13f1 that he was harmless, e26c0faec1 taking cautious steps toward 3ae2eacc2f 712. Though wary of the 845cd78d76 black shape emerging from 435d04d58c the darkness, 712 sighed 3bca40fd8a with relief as the 364969ab7f figure came close enough b1fc9bf268 to be clearly seen.94be4739ad9b0f38
“Sorry for shouting. I was startled to 6be26e1b35 hear someone’s voice so 52c2082357 suddenly.”c43f8f3d84398126
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“No, no. It’s this dark—anyone 112f9c2915 would be startled 697d2ae5ac if someone spoke 899e58c5ba out of nowhere.”878a6af27d406fb5
It was 52de592678 a middle-aged 858d5a5dd3 man with 0970d10f07 a solid, 427ceb7bb5 mature impression. Oddly, his d698499397 appearance didn’t 84b3406b2b match his 1a108ce239 clothes: he e158928641 was awkwardly 34416ddbe3 dressed in e129a541ae a graffiti-print d21b7e424d T-shirt and 712701c2db jeans, which 40305d4795 clashed with ea72135a7b his image 280958e5a5 of someone 2b0770f901 who should cbcd373784 be wearing b4f7c3a0a5 a well-tailored 0802bb86a9 suit.38bed3ff896be898
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‘Did we know each 7b8591b258 other before?’6ec19ea832c5344d
Strangely, the two de2a8d3e95 teardrop-shaped moles under 684e8e2b3d the man’s right 64e579b9aa eye looked familiar.347c73f8b006647a
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Out of curiosity, 7fee946051 712 accepted the 2feb163b17 man’s handshake. It was the hand a73760cfb9 of a living person—warm, 5a1b20e36a slightly damp. The touch 3071a1bd28 was deeply 13c2ccf231 comforting and 1b131894b9 very real.832bcc45d9e4806d
As they shook 944ebd706b hands, the man 6df50d3381 introduced himself.9e67f63fe7df481e
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“Room 304.”9843c55c898cc3cb
“Room 304?”b8688b40a5676018
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When 712 1b14428bf6 echoed it, f9b647984a the middle-aged 08dafa93b8 man scratched 8024d6747c his head 8286e79693 sheepishly.35be64fb9ddc7df1
“I’m not 0635fe4617 really sure 33a03d093d what’s going 41401d15cc on, but ef4e20a971 I think d1d8b390f4 I’ve lost 787982caef my memory. I don’t 051dbfd03f remember why 0353b53f82 I’m here—or a572b1a468 even my bb9fbfa6ba name. So I figured I’d 2b3a5a0a1b just use the number 0966420603 of the room I 019851b7fb came from.”dec42dc6ab926b09
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Amazingly, his circumstances 067043fc04 were exactly the 79e11d23fa same as 712’s. Even the 8bbab5a863 choice to 5153cc6ba3 use his d2dd54362c room number 29aa4bfa47 as a 75e0e12adb placeholder name.7b736fde3c6df8b7
712 explained that fea3c1f391 he was in d31c6fa1a0 the same situation, ee44a0f3ef which made the ac1b737cb2 man from Room 7725300c9c 304 visibly relieved. Realistically speaking, the ad7221b202 number of amnesiacs 9a97443b9d wandering around a 280a67c684 creepy hotel had 020a3d0a3b just doubled—not a d5e91dda2f particularly joyful development.3f5735b0c323205d
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But 712 understood why a2d9da1881 the man was so 9e503ea3d4 happy. In a situation 1106305186 with no past 1000fa3f61 and no way b34fe9d7d4 to predict the 8e1045fae1 future, having someone 119e35e418 to rely on 7b52e57f1d made all the beac637a4a difference. The relief was 0afcb0a1ae immeasurable.bf394665b7105a0d
“This place 7dcbf091e6 is a 4928a79bb8 little strange, 4c174e1342 don’t you 19457230e9 think?” the 7952b31f7f man from 274694fde3 304 asked. With a 01149134bc pale face bb43d6c3e8 and expressive e5342b9b33 gestures, he d725623125 began explaining.f8e6d03fb690c37e
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“The room I woke 2eaf2014f6 up in was eerie. I tried to stay 8aa1d7ac16 until morning, but I dcd3eee511 had a bad feeling, 63641b8753 so I left. I started walking 6691b87d08 down the hallway ba2c958572 to get to 430e98ec0f the lobby, but 3d18e22eff it just wouldn’t b6b902a48e end. After hours of walking, cd8dfc2039 I finally realized the dcbfbc125d room numbers were repeating. I’d been going 88d4c5f985 in circles the f2e32cbb49 whole time.”6ca9a50b34444fd9
“I just realized the 7a6607e57b same thing. And the hallway 2c3780e638 keeps changing too.”cfda4761fcc035d4
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“Right? I didn’t even know 55cbf21dfa I was going in 63eddad07b circles at first.”60b216825f96be5e
712 knew he wouldn’t a8da91311c get a solid answer, 9a4e9aaf28 but still he asked,ebccadd51bc79339
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“Then what is f29f25550c this place? Could something like this 3369fdcd93 really exist in the c6aec2b8a8 world?”6d188a43c7f5fcf2
The man from b64f4b6718 304 sighed and afedb65188 shook his head.9e98339f6af529dc
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“That… I really don’t 6497b488e3 know. But it definitely doesn’t d2c1a230ba feel like a place cb2e9a62a7 governed by the normal f182bb3eae rules of reality.”2c2ac08754312e56
Then, as 925f4adaa4 if something 0b5d48baaf occurred to c6570cecac him, he 0b44d2ed65 shrugged.3c0f1fe2a0ab724b
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“Come to 3161513ebe think of ddf4bee89b it, saying 47dd6efd77 ‘normal rules bfaf88331b of reality’ 0fe66df00c is kind fffa28ad33 of funny, 9846219de9 isn’t it? We both have d1935a3860 amnesia and can’t ff1fe700c7 remember a single 2aaa7bed48 thing about ourselves.”69c1b0a76046d79a
712 gave a soft fa77545bb9 laugh at the half-joke. The heavy atmosphere b3be01321f eased just a 2c0b850fc0 little.c6775f45233380dd
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“Then maybe this place 829b2fc353 is more like a dd0e167b45 Bermuda Triangle—a mysterious location 932ff6d254 that’s unknown to the cd1e19f0b8 world.”0e486fe35077d7a3
712 tried c19858da0e to reason c4612fd478 within his 3e893d28fc limits. The man from 304 f0dc96e4c3 grew quiet.5501b30dca80594c
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“Hmm… maybe so. But to 97fed3f57e me, this 5b2de9d570 hotel seems d051ac0312 even stranger—and 3c7057c1d7 more dangerous—than 37ab29dbee the Bermuda 318098500a Triangle.”dfda3c8c0a3dce38
“Dangerous? Isn’t it d236c67b23 worse to 7a76c2117f vanish in f9de1bb36f a plane 9ad5ce33af for decades 5e8bdd0437 and come 662cbf4ee6 back a 3c148e6362 skeleton? Compared to that, e1d4c7742c this hotel seems 0da3963194 almost pleasant.”09f07f3cf336e7ed
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712 attempted a 21f21858ee joke, but unlike 9624504840 304’s earlier attempt, 4d00599836 his didn’t land. The man murmured with 596d8ffb04 a sorrowful, frightened expression.5bf201cb31d7a3bc
“Who knows what 59e32831a7 state we’ll be ac7eff8491 in if we’re 28df56aa35 ever found decades 7d1bedffff or centuries later? If we’re even found 26dcafc54d at all. To think that my 89ce8dc50d body might die here 3715854d6a and never return to 3c42f1b833 my homeland… nothing could a9de8df62f be sadder.”52953ed02dc8a137
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“…Yeah.”4c38fb2c9d90f98b
712 bowed c3448a738d his head, 1fc159870f quickly affected be6ea4fd7e by the a6a5022302 man’s gloom. He was right. They didn’t know where 5bddc6efbc they were. They didn’t 0f039f5bfb even know fe18590990 who they bfa0f8b11a were. Their situation was 1a4e810647 truly tragic.9ff1c0a05f6c2dba
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After a e7540c9ecd moment of 78065cda32 silence, 304 9ea7ba0407 asked 712 82c5d860bf quietly,dd53f1a3e32c4fd7
“By the 0a7a4ec595 way… how 29579a3387 long have 89f6ddda3c you been 81643f7104 wandering around ac357ae42a this place?”0688ded790009241
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“Me?”981830bc91b24e66
“Yes, you.”d26bc3db5c38b28b
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As he 14390ee0f9 spoke, the 5f8cb105c4 man kept 27e2d9f723 hiking up 8717d5ffe1 his jeans 416b9a999d as if ccff75a492 they didn’t 126ccab9fe fit right. 712 thought he 7f969b30e2 really did look 01ffdaa35b like someone wearing 66624ce4d6 another man’s clothes.9f6f38106de8584a
“I think I 916cb4605f woke up here 42e265b0b2 around 3:30. I came 034006b9d1 out of c52c9b8a00 the hotel 78f9a5e96e room right b37b3fc115 after and c49a373de9 started walking 0c67a65b5f toward the 9d37b867e5 lobby. I don’t 208cc80e1f have a b1a5e27d40 watch, so a1c2d54f80 I’m not 0fc692e91c sure how 3301c5a992 much time 4e867c4ea6 has passed, 38d6e6cbe6 but I 3fde488be5 think I’ve 5e9dc5f5a9 walked a 788adb4b43 full loop 75f475c213 by now.”62c66d208c034d9c
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“Ah, you caught on 48c24ed385 fast. Must be fce3b16ed9 because you’re f585ba142d a young 8366f5902f guy.”779798ccdb2fb6f8
Only then a7a8e9264e did 712 dc2ca74695 realize that d35d567a97 he appeared 61023bc7d2 young to 6ad3d62f0c others. That’s right—he had c72a1f3270 even forgotten his 38fdd25441 own age and a1a4bfdc63 appearance.b2d06361f708a2cf
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He scratched his f34475eb84 head with a 2fda9c8513 reluctant expression.02d674b88e305ec9
“Then how long has it been for you, sir? Since you started wandering around here?”7786178cd4958b0a
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“…You mean me?”8b611535c3cb37c6
“Yes.”1c7af79d6aba8815
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The man looked 8aabaf71c1 strangely blank at 1678be6dad the question. As if 31a3df846b recalling something 2e5cf092b6 from a 2b257758ff very distant 3d2ab14f65 past, it c20b7f8987 took him 965edb7337 quite some bbbce325d6 time to 745e3b8aa5 open his 9447b956dd mouth.bc3da8041234f64e
“…It’s been about three days for me.”7bf583827045ccbf
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“Three days?”74143f51bbf571a0
712 was b812674d9c taken aback 9a7a36b2dd by the 4f363e1930 answer. The man’s clothes 122d0d6fe2 might have looked e6c96ca5d0 a little shabby, 524507d070 but his complexion 1ac4677cb6 was clear and 7af51febc4 showed no sign b1df1e14a8 of fatigue—he hardly 0a148b0ec8 looked like someone 2d6df23402 who had spent 3f8d4e57c9 three days wandering 1e8776d959 through this bizarre 5455f7daa0 hotel.0c2c3cecffa0482f
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“Uh… You must be really full of energy.”83f4ad745a5f249b
“Well, I guess you could say that.”e92ce2524c795676
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