See Tom Run by Scott Wittenburg Page A

of average size and appeared to be door keys.
There was also a GM car key—perhaps the one for the hearse.
    Tom spotted a tiny brass key that looked like it
could be the one he sought. Excitedly, he picked up the key ring,
went over to a mirror and began the arduous task of trying to slip
the key into the tiny hole of the cuff. Sweating profusely, he
eventually managed to get the key into the hole and nearly snapped
his wrist fumbling around trying to get the key to rotate inside
the hole. Five minutes later, he heard a crisp click as the manacle
sprang away from his left wrist, freeing his hand.
    A victorious smile came to Tom’s face as he brought
his hands around and unlocked the other cuff.
    He’d done it, by god!
    Tom picked up the keys, chose one randomly and tried
it in one of the guest room doors. The key went in but wouldn’t
turn. What he needed to do now was find the room holding Erin
captive and worry about the keys later.
    The problem was that she could be anywhere in this
huge hotel and there was really no way to know where to start. He
would just have to give it his best shot and pray for a miracle
before Chappy and his entourage returned to the Waldorf.
    He quickly worked his way down the corridor, knocking
on each door and listening for a sound. Then he advanced to the
adjacent hallway and repeated the process until he’d covered nearly
the entire fifth floor. When he suddenly heard a sound coming from
the direction of the elevators, he froze where he stood and then
quietly backtracked toward the direction of the sound. He arrived
at the end of the hallway and cautiously peeked around the
corner.
    At first, he didn’t see anything. Then suddenly, he
saw the door to the stairway open and someone stepped out into the
hallway.
    It was Bummer!
    Tom thought Bummer had spotted him so he ran down the
corridor, thankful that it was carpeted. He could only pray that
Bummer wasn’t headed toward him because if that were the case, he
was a goner. The corridor dead-ended and he would have no time to
get inside any of the rooms.
    He heard Bummer running down the hall toward him and
started looking around for a possible escape route. There was
nothing. Bummer would be rounding the corner any second.
    Tom tried the handle of the nearest guest room door
and couldn’t believe it—the door was unlocked! Quickly, he opened
it, ran inside and closed the door behind him. He slid the deadbolt
as quietly as he could, praying that Bummer wouldn’t hear—
    “Room service,” he heard just outside the door.
    Bummer had found him.
    Tom glanced around the room then heard a huge crash
at the door. He turned around and saw the sharp edge of an ax
sticking out where it had sliced through the door.
    Feeling like he was in a scene
from The Shining ,
Tom watched in horror as the ax blade withdraw then sliced into the
door again about a half-inch to the right of the first hole. He ran
over to the bed, grabbed a lamp and stood off to the side. It was
at that moment that he spotted another door in the room with a
deadbolt on it.
    A door that led to the adjoining room!
    Tom ran over to the door, slid open the dead bolt and
tried the doorknob. It turned. He opened the door, ran into the
adjoining room and locked the door behind him. He was safe for the
moment.
    But how long would it take for Bummer to break into
the other room then proceed to this room?
    He needed to get away quickly or he would be a dead
man.
    Tom heard the ax continuously crashing into the wood
as he stepped over to the room entrance. Quietly, with his heart
beating hard in his chest, he cracked the door an inch and looked
out into the corridor. Fortunately, the door swung in the direction
that allowed him to see Bummer next door hacking the hell out of
the door with his ax. Unfortunately, there would be nothing
standing between him and Bummer once he ran out into the hall.
    So he would have to wait until Bummer axed his way
through the door then take off like a bat