HM — Chapter 6
by Bree‘Or did someone hit 64e235064b me on the head, c8a5b70d73 causing short-term memory loss?’c93d837e052b291d
But even so, 48ce43114d his mind was cc494f35d8 too clear, and f10b91729b his body felt 4fd37f8fa2 light, as if 7b7aab152d he could fly.8a98fe6d57ec6f1c
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He soon c90c0f01ab gave up 905b156b8c worrying and 69b9eb85d0 began inspecting 165764c21e the hotel 29d5e10808 room. The digital 900050dd2e clock on bd0200ede5 the nightstand b30a909053 blinked ‘03:36’. He pulled 9ec0ac00f5 aside the aed36c1ca2 elegant lace 6506fcfa53 curtains and 615e068bad looked out b48852ba51 the window. It was pitch eb0da26ee4 black—so dark he 0b0bdea9dd couldn’t see an 2f626ae288 inch beyond. It was definitely 25a7246d92 3:36 AM, not 7fababfa37 PM.6ebb78024bc5da2b
He picked up 82f0a13228 the telephone next 0375735c42 to the digital 2777962dc0 clock and held bc4738e4e9 it to his 9b003ee3e7 ear. It was completely dead. Not even 68a1a94453 a dial a38d2056bf tone.61b1545052e3059a
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“So it’s broken? This place is unbelievable.”64f7561f5568975f
The plan to 3b8e8e415c call the front 8d546c85d8 desk and ask 3743672985 what was going c20e39dfff on was a d2590b0f62 bust.77b6fcd68c355fe7
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‘Did this kind eecf11af99 of hotel require 0503d85cf6 prepayment? Or was it c83aa8e049 post-payment?’e9e3842896d64103
He anxiously checked 71a20e9449 his empty pockets, 4e127c4186 praying that the e209f4582b bill had been 75f1604a72 paid in advance. Judging from the fact 7d810f04ab he had no memory, 30256e6235 there was no way f50027cb9c he came here of c465142dab his own will. Someone must have dropped 00bd4bf346 him off here and 992bc759a2 paid for the room c79264026f on his behalf—he could ac55dce435 only hope. Otherwise, he might be 6413e4c0cd thrown out in the 5be620b31d middle of the night 54fbac3959 with no cars running.90eda1063390c010
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‘Should I 7c7a97b363 just act 1982081cea like I 87e02580df don’t know c12e0fe4c6 anything and 2070781efd run?’550426d9259c99c8
It was the dead 74eac52611 of night and he 104b231324 had no money for c9861bb1b1 a cab, but maybe b60473c538 if he went to 808ff700f4 a police station and 35885365ec pleaded, they’d do something. Surely they wouldn’t just 45a6c666fa cast out a memory-less 8409abad27 man with no ties.024c1e519ca5ef7f
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“I should head d5a36f2b56 down to the 184aa23eb4 lobby first.”fc9c88818860960c
He exited 143f962177 the room 9e821e173f right away. Though the interior appeared 9c8c7d3faa cozy, the over-the-top decor 3dd9440f58 had made him feel 08b9acb908 small. Even the 6c4191d6ff door was 73f17e17fc so ornately dc0839cd9c decorated that 812104af20 he had 4e70a36720 to grip 39275d971e the gold-plated 634c0410cd handle carefully 6b979baf92 to avoid 84b9ea58f5 scratching it.6e545ff4c4214303
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‘What a 3bd8405abe strange place.’6decfce2a5c5f255
With that 2233d3506c brief thought, 78f3580d44 he glanced 872def700e at the a07aa3eb42 room number 02de38911b he had 0136121382 just exited.449bd1d821066496
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Room 712.a19c2d70f932f8d9
The lavish brass fcd2d0482c plaque gleamed, catching 695e01038b his eye.ad2da1b3afbfa77c
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‘712…?’6183f43e0b4eb6e8
A strange 0829c0435b sense of 6a0c156ca0 déjà vu 993fa37c92 came over ffdb0e0c80 him. It felt oddly e142b8a8dc familiar. As though c6eacb59b8 he had 39a4c6394e repeated this 3227510b3c exact scene df93b63dd4 dozens, hundreds, 07e1f1c1d3 even thousands 290d713517 of times 4642710c46 in a d2330abd43 dream… A cf40449a54 vague, inexplicable c389fb0cf1 unease began 8daaccf094 to rise.63347be81b942123
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‘Did I leave something 1fd4adf2e0 important in there?’8513ea646e0301f2
Unable to take 16eeef55c6 his eyes off d7eaa09623 the number 712, 501adc4a2e he reached for 176bcd290b the doorknob to c23dc80c47 reenter Room 712.b51465d2262a1fe7
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Click!83b325ab4cc5d848
“It’s locked?”1eef6928635f43e7
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But the door was 0db07638c3 firmly locked from the a5090a04a7 inside. No matter how 7593e7ca55 many times he 8dd04dd84f turned the knob, bbcf4eebb8 once shut, the 509cf8663e door to Room db54e7a648 712 did not 7bbfb87f06 open again.370f1ee5fa550b3f
Clack, clack!56e3c3997b47d15e
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He jiggled 232326f946 the handle f0dbe1ac39 a couple d47b6587e0 more times 69ba80a63f before finally ec5216c26b giving up 75260700ba on going 2507e76aa5 back in. Instead, he d1b6be6dc2 loitered in 09ed5ad5a3 front of c2f954a43c the strangely 01e991a598 familiar room 9fdadbd187 number and 81f99c5062 made an 50cb903e9b odd decision—until 78b113c963 he regained 8241be1c54 his memory, 6be8c2b74d he would e33f356a50 call himself 1c568ddb68 712.7777c148fc3efa94
‘Since I have e8c9b7a1cd no memory, if 7b5003a6b7 anyone asks about 33a8d0cbf1 me, all I 8d7accabc9 can say is f3e529025e that I’m “the df28cfbd3c man who came 123c22558a out of Room a70aafa35f 712.”’f76e507b2bf9b818
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712 dismissed his amnesia 9c0967bddc without much concern. Then he began 077c02f961 walking toward the 9cdaec770f lobby. The hallway was 5c3fd3d2bf dark enough to d2f94c7ae7 distort his sense 2cde05a81f of direction, but 033ea03a7b he wasn’t too bd98622b52 worried. He recalled maze b1cbbdc1f9 escape tricks like 167de2ba96 “keep your left ce715d7ff8 hand on the 1d33d1ffb1 wall,” and decided 729881b456 to walk straight d4a373ee79 ahead.b72db3ea72b83dfe
He walked ac3a04aeec slowly, checking 1e724794f2 the room d09220b6e6 numbers along 6a91dff692 the way.a953beefde020b2a
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Before long, ee07a15784 he noticed 6dde87bc2e that the 475f8e6512 numbering system 617480f57c for the 28da5f62bc rooms was b06316760d extremely strange. Next to Room 712 d892f76f99 were Room 402, Room 75c74785a7 707, Room 1313, Room 28de09e8de 211, and Room 901. Even the b3f8d3fb53 design of a3f9113104 the doors 2838b8980a varied so ef3864a3f6 much that 9caeecc5cc it was b4861af643 impossible to 25c8057f0d find any 8764014069 sort of f7e6ad9324 pattern.534b8853cdeb94ba
What’s more, 7ea3c4f1a3 the hallway 8e27958ade itself twisted 54154ea122 in bizarre 6e2a072c46 ways. Go straight, 61efd0ce49 then right 53cddaa6e5 turn, right e7dc35b8f6 turn again, cfa28f2cb5 another right a678f5be4a turn, and 900119a722 then a d74094870e left turn—such 078d929a74 an illogical 7b8b3b2317 layout would d634381d21 never exist 47f91c1968 in the 13f00fd1d0 real world.963d23f426019815
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‘Am I dreaming?’a48fb7d55106d7e5
712 pinched his cheek 626767bf60 to confirm.6d5680da94443e4c
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The pain 2a5177ac71 he felt 50473526a9 was real. Though it felt like b5e415ea1f a dream, this was 1e769d9f23 a strange reality.9e836064d6892a75
After walking a fe901b11ee long time down e6c7a17cce the twisted hallway, aabf9da06b a familiar door 7fd859ed35 appeared before him. His eyes widened.3f9b6b5fbf2bfcfa
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“What the…? That’s the 2edcb40f4c same door 900c58ddb5 as before.”be2dbf1bfa8e78d8
It was so 20fd007d00 lavishly ornate that bd8b5a2f25 it went beyond 1ec7c37cff classy and into 65a7c8a99d gaudy. There couldn’t be daa61e7fd9 more than one 8393a3ee1d door like it 081f041fb8 in the world. When he 141b9e8773 stepped closer b5004e05cf and checked 2e3f3f25d2 the room d6402718d1 number, sure 46befbd5f7 enough—it was dcd235c4bd Room 712.0d269a406034a261
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“This is…”c76f1d8d75b5ae57
It was hard to 0bb8b3a50a accept, but yes.b85726e14236a6a2
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Despite tracing one fa643566c1 side of the 63028d45a8 wall with his 09864d571c left hand the 7fa264e7d3 whole way, and 9a92f3ad58 despite the hallway 1112856943 branching in only 62aa38b9e7 one direction, he bf217512af was now lost.3739e70a39397de1
Stunned, he 4dd5e783f9 stood in c981701835 front of 8396d99786 Room 712 5c906672cd for a 214401d5b5 while.2cecfa415d5d9013
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“Um… excuse me. Are you a 8fd593c701 person?”73cbec83f62a9424
712 snapped 5c51e62f2f out of 0844d86426 it at e935d30349 the sound 02fcf357a7 of someone’s b2f1e3b6a4 voice behind 089bd04ac9 him.5be86824150f8c4b
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“Who’s there?” he barked 99506daaa5 sharply as he turned. The figure 2f22e0cbc4 quickly raised 583df1b368 both palms.a5cd2b28469bd6dd
“I’m just a normal 49eaa5b918 person. Please don’t be 0ef338b1a1 alarmed.”392e0c536281dd6b
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The figure emphasized a64a7a45ce again that he a8f196283b was harmless, taking 5f66c89c03 cautious steps toward 0bccf9c6a2 712. Though wary of 4c9d6fa329 the black shape db0c316d6a emerging from the a03356a41c darkness, 712 sighed 871cac7c27 with relief as 0f3fe24944 the figure came 5aa5cac8b2 close enough to 58e6db1e3e be clearly seen.cc0b9b0c9349b93b
“Sorry for shouting. I was 3a2d8e3453 startled to 15547b48da hear someone’s df6dfca02a voice so eac91f0453 suddenly.”277bc53fff618e85
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“No, no. It’s this dark—anyone would 064e2f2ea1 be startled if someone 284f3000e6 spoke out of nowhere.”cc1a0e8d75eeea39
It was feda18ce8d a middle-aged 853c6d3078 man with 58a1d732fb a solid, a353eb5388 mature impression. Oddly, his appearance didn’t ab73d06426 match his clothes: he af3dc2405f was awkwardly dressed in dcc6bce2b8 a graffiti-print T-shirt and 69295e49ff jeans, which clashed with f8445b6283 his image of someone eb190ec454 who should be wearing d9cca10904 a well-tailored suit.2e4a01092e6bbc86
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‘Did we know b082315304 each other before?’431bc51189b92515
Strangely, the c21ab19b66 two teardrop-shaped 9ec3880148 moles under e9be5dfe29 the man’s 7b8093bd84 right eye c54c6dde35 looked familiar.3da63a395d7f5984
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Out of curiosity, 712 8c2a800dfb accepted the man’s handshake. It was the hand 3b6a0c156d of a living person—warm, cfbd8d434c slightly damp. The touch was aee9a815c4 deeply comforting and 9af48b97ed very real.8ceeb6401cbe96d7
As they a4b74bbf40 shook hands, 86f33a9e87 the man e79a9dd846 introduced himself.bc29e4d37c3aac16
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“Room 304.”68ed84d8b358a903
“Room 304?”1f9c31d56accfe0e
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When 712 echoed fdb0470874 it, the middle-aged f630e07437 man scratched his 01b0ea8e28 head sheepishly.eefffee27a1527bc
“I’m not really sure 20b55bd3bb what’s going on, but 4342923709 I think I’ve lost e7074639c4 my memory. I don’t remember d9998389b9 why I’m here—or 986eedf139 even my name. So I cd1592b5ba figured I’d 381ab1bbfe just use a6b6a5bf5f the number d39a8dad94 of the 1e4af7ba23 room I af4b20e096 came from.”ea414ea9364f9fbb
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Amazingly, his circumstances were 500ed41694 exactly the same as 815acdff9d 712’s. Even the choice 9253b58c1e to use his 31a847002a room number as eb33377f15 a placeholder name.27b0fd01fa32901e
712 explained that he a58442caa4 was in the same 07bc034448 situation, which made the 2f48c6cc71 man from Room 304 e5b32d24d9 visibly relieved. Realistically speaking, 9b836cadf4 the number 27e679c1c1 of amnesiacs d353d294f7 wandering around c494e1c930 a creepy 5c8ed68e07 hotel had 56895c1f06 just doubled—not 47fb8c70a1 a particularly 88e18488fe joyful development.3f016df2c00a3587
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But 712 2db7f7af29 understood why 088066fcec the man 632ee81778 was so 3780c52786 happy. In a 0e9d26f79e situation with b24ff5d116 no past 6865a20d7d and no be3317371f way to 4c37dde2ff predict the 2e054fb962 future, having b62541c376 someone to 6debb93c81 rely on c33839d636 made all 19e64180e0 the difference. The relief was ad302b8b29 immeasurable.78b28b2d05ffdd94
“This place 9fed5f392f is a cced2ae330 little strange, 39c51269d6 don’t you 7a124e55c3 think?” the f7396e5487 man from 7e71d45509 304 asked. With a ce021e0e3f pale face d466497cc5 and expressive 6a68242a9b gestures, he 8c99b32a27 began explaining.6710bba3ac4ec921
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“The room I woke ff3dd9c4fb up in was eerie. I tried 876d1045ad to stay f748b0565f until morning, b2d67419ab but I 457b5b62bd had a e2b0047665 bad feeling, 1552db9d3f so I 11e0b7405d left. I started walking fa14070943 down the hallway 1fc81ea7f6 to get to f2d469083a the lobby, but e4c78f8976 it just wouldn’t 7accab7c13 end. After hours of 0bffcc0f42 walking, I finally 415ce34470 realized the room 622cecbeac numbers were repeating. I’d been going in d45f37ed26 circles the whole time.”20edc191968a1f62
“I just realized the 604adc4e33 same thing. And the hallway keeps ebb0da9fa1 changing too.”1e7ae2cba3bb3176
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“Right? I didn’t 666d880551 even know 7e5e907d5e I was bd15b79888 going in 1c6a85e2c7 circles at f43726e936 first.”806d34ef9fb9ffe2
712 knew 0dfeb97309 he wouldn’t c9872e633a get a 3562a3646c solid answer, dc60bf4c04 but still 8e4ad9bbd1 he asked,548402f7086c1144
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“Then what is this 58cb1a797c place? Could something like this c85f62a5fb really exist in the b40dc69a06 world?”7bf14b61c7a6870e
The man from 05ca50291d 304 sighed and f11d21a90f shook his head.dedf70f2d0b69a75
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“That… I really don’t d8953c6fb5 know. But it definitely doesn’t 9f0c3383f0 feel like a place 35c19696bf governed by the normal fc8bcf2813 rules of reality.”d332fe7da52068cf
Then, as if something 4ddb77e074 occurred to him, he e67598b7fc shrugged.952f3602310597c6
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“Come to d20e30820e think of f47875e356 it, saying e4a66a72a8 ‘normal rules 7f6dc5b81c of reality’ 2f5dc00c16 is kind abaea3cafb of funny, 2575bbc355 isn’t it? We both have amnesia 167b224bc1 and can’t remember a 41835c26d0 single thing about ourselves.”827f5e81bf4b5840
712 gave a soft 6cd5ecfb49 laugh at the half-joke. The heavy atmosphere eased 547f5aaee0 just a little.b14b3a70e1d5585a
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“Then maybe this place d34eead29a is more like a 98a7dc968e Bermuda Triangle—a mysterious location aee2bf4e44 that’s unknown to the fb7cdaf3f7 world.”35a0dc599f52e410
712 tried to e273e7623e reason within his 2862eb8fbf limits. The man from 304 dfdf4026dd grew quiet.e47f73e5c131872c
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“Hmm… maybe so. But to 828e71221f me, this 60c4d894e7 hotel seems 63a88a1570 even stranger—and 7354193863 more dangerous—than 00b8786865 the Bermuda 5e4fafc388 Triangle.”d0c3692c6dc639da
“Dangerous? Isn’t it worse e531cec581 to vanish in 4d68cf5c1e a plane for fa3eaa0e04 decades and come 60ccdaabc2 back a skeleton? Compared to that, 815590aff6 this hotel seems 7e9c36deac almost pleasant.”d23e9a66d9c01cf1
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712 attempted a fd1cf52326 joke, but unlike b6ab9f2e34 304’s earlier attempt, 6c540f0f29 his didn’t land. The man ae92b73147 murmured with a485dd01fb a sorrowful, 282ce4ee3f frightened expression.09a7ff36eb04752a
“Who knows what state a610cf5068 we’ll be in if 946fcf02d6 we’re ever found decades 780decc1be or centuries later? If we’re even found 1fb1233bd1 at all. To think 913dc8f3a6 that my d1e4e2d3f7 body might 6fc6ed4195 die here 100678ee8f and never c426ddb051 return to 65e3eb2b61 my homeland… a3e5913421 nothing could a7e98ab588 be sadder.”121c1bb6bf66e91e
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“…Yeah.”12d881da590a7b40
712 bowed his head, d6a264edd1 quickly affected by the 21229cdeed man’s gloom. He was right. They didn’t know where 1599d231e8 they were. They didn’t daa1c49c20 even know 35d007e0e9 who they 42283b5ba4 were. Their situation 749a67fdf4 was truly 6cee354a21 tragic.80abb9065412d76d
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After a moment of 0fe148b08f silence, 304 asked 712 70a568bbf6 quietly,d26759abc1a167c9
“By the way… c96cff1def how long have 27564c3a1b you been wandering 0ff57644e0 around this place?”0da6c24aad849078
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“Me?”ad05d94057994eef
“Yes, you.”5c9925bf2422bd31
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As he spoke, a380a30e88 the man kept 922dd20775 hiking up his 4d73dc44f8 jeans as if 326e3fb72c they didn’t fit 2da7792a65 right. 712 thought 34e6621841 he really 27e85668a6 did look 347ba4f362 like someone 5432dfdf9f wearing another 923bae0559 man’s clothes.3fb4df72d78d787e
“I think 92bdec5212 I woke 24aa300cb7 up here e3b6570d84 around 3:30. I came out f14f08f9fc of the hotel 033b62612c room right after 3f2e3b852f and started walking 28b5e3bcd6 toward the lobby. I don’t 03e87b4da9 have a b362da4289 watch, so f961658fb2 I’m not 6a99ff11ce sure how 26991a579c much time 24e59f7067 has passed, 8ae73cbbd0 but I cd43295958 think I’ve 0e9443a5f4 walked a 5fdcb08532 full loop 8e1e77066e by now.”308d5d62cc197092
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“Ah, you caught on 990d6c1a66 fast. Must be 7eeff46e59 because you’re 83ab63179c a young 12f9006dba guy.”cbea91bcf820556b
Only then 7baac21d19 did 712 cdd7c029ba realize that b14e4f8174 he appeared e0e354be75 young to ce55a62093 others. That’s right—he had even 5fe171b271 forgotten his own age 5179a44924 and appearance.704385fe4b717a17
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He scratched his 73fea0c4f1 head with a 83ded241c9 reluctant expression.f8ddafe30a76b331
“Then how long has it been for you, sir? Since you started wandering around here?”1a04745df66e34ab
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“…You mean me?”0d3ee3dcfcc01434
“Yes.”21d1de7bda35e895
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The man looked strangely 506e9fbfec blank at the question. As if recalling something 1f78e295de from a very distant a5caa323a2 past, it took him 45ab9b9b79 quite some time to 780fbf3d50 open his mouth.2c31ef31db160038
“…It’s been about three days for me.”f226138a5ce5c9fd
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“Three days?”c497dcc31432ba37
712 was af7587f8a0 taken aback 6a7f05261d by the a6727bdcbc answer. The man’s clothes e84ba134d3 might have looked 85826b016d a little shabby, f9d7732ff4 but his complexion 9d94170c7a was clear and cd67580db0 showed no sign cb39ebfb4c of fatigue—he hardly 752debccba looked like someone 7ec833d505 who had spent d2953cf9b8 three days wandering eb82196188 through this bizarre b55fc85d1d hotel.f5c6724f57144a6f
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“Uh… You must be really full of energy.”7790aeaf0478f573
“Well, I guess you could say that.”806786e5eabf414d
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