Chapter 48 Section 47

She stood in the hallway with only one thought on her mind: to find the shelf that held her clothes.She tried to turn every doorknob, but all of them closed.Finally, she walked through a double door that was open.The room looked strangely large and empty.The black woman in the green overalls was already there pushing the vacuum cleaner to work.All that was left of the large crowd at the party were a few men standing and chatting.Their voices were muffled, and they were all fully clothed.No one noticed Chantal.Suddenly, they found her inappropriately naked, gazing at them timidly.A man in his seventies, wearing a bathrobe and slippers, walked over and said a few words to them.

She racked her brains, thinking about how to escape.That completely different atmosphere, the unexpected decrease in the number of people.The layout of the room has almost changed as well.She has lost her way.She saw the open door in the next room, the room of the woman who followed her with drool on her lips.She passed the room, peeked into it - and: it was empty, she stopped, looked around for an exit, but there was none. She went back to the big room and found that the gentlemen had left.Why didn't she pay attention?She can follow them.The septuagenarian man in the bathrobe and their eyes met.She recognized him with great confidence.She walked over and said, "I called you, do you remember? You asked me to come over, but when I got here, I couldn't see you."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, but I'm no longer at these kids' games," he said.He was kind, but he didn't pay much attention to her.He went to the windows and opened them one by one.A gust of strong cold wind howled in through the window. "I'm glad I found someone I know," Chantal said anxiously. "I'm going to drive out all the stench." "Tell me how to get to that platform, where all my stuff is." "Be patient," he said, walking across the room.There is a chair there.He brought it over and said to her, "Sit down first, and I'll come and take care of you as soon as I'm free."

The chair was placed in the middle of the room.She sat down obediently.The old man walked up to the black woman and soon disappeared with her into the next room.The vacuum cleaner was still roaring, and through that roar, Chantal could still hear the old man explaining something.Then she heard the sound of a hammer striking.Hammer?She was very puzzled.Who is wielding the hammer?Did she see no one?Someone must be coming!Then what door did he come in through? A breeze lifted the scarlet curtains around the windows.Chantal sat naked on a chair and felt a little cold.She heard the hammering again, and realized with horror: They were nailing the door up!She can't get out anymore!A strong sense of dread swept over her.She got up from her chair and took two or three steps forward, but she had no idea where to go.She stopped.She wanted to cry out, to ask for help, but who would help her?In her agony, she thought again of the man struggling to make his way through the crowd to her.Someone grabbed him from behind.She couldn't see his face clearly, only his distorted figure.God, she wished she could remember him better, remember his features, but she couldn't.All she knew was that it was someone who loved her, and that was all she knew now.She had seen him in this city before, and he must not go far.She wants to find him as soon as possible.But how to find him?The doors were nailed shut.At this moment, she saw the red curtain fluttering in the wind by the window.window!They are open!Well, we must go to the window!She should have called for help into the street!She can even jump from a window, if the window isn't too high off the ground!She heard the hammer strike again.Another sound.This is the last sound, and there will be no more.Time passed minute by minute.This will be her last chance to act.