Face the Living, Face the Dead

Dorothy sensed the danger and decided she couldn't bear the humiliation.

 Even if it meant death, she wouldn't let them succeed.

She raised the broken bottle in her hand, ready to plunge it into her own neck.

Suddenly, a man rushed forward and wrested it from her grasp.

"Hmph! You want to die? It's not going to be that easy. We'll have our fun with you first!" one of them sneered.

They forcefully pinned Dorothy to the couch. "

Big brother, you go first!"

The man addressed as big brother grinned lecherously. 

"Alright, I won't hold back then!"

Another man nearby lifted the blanket off a waitress and felt her up. 

"This one's not dead yet, still warm.

 Let me relieve some tension first!"

"Hey, could you guys bandage me up first?"

 a wounded man sitting on the floor whimpered.

"Wait, your little wound won't kill you.

 We can't wait any longer!"

Just as they were about to tear off Dorothy's clothes and start assaulting her, two blasts of a car horn sounded outside the hotel.

The sudden noise startled them all.

They looked at each other, puzzled. 

What was happening? Was help arriving?

"Number Five, go check the window and see what's going on!"

The man who was about to assault the waitress grumbled irritably as he got up to look out the window.

 "Damn, let's see who's ruining our fun!"

Dylan drove his car straight to the entrance of the Cape Hotel. 

He honked twice, hoping for some response from inside.

If Dorothy were there, she would surely respond.

But there was no sign of activity even after a while.

Was she not in the hotel? Or had she frozen to death inside?

No, he couldn't just sit in the car.

 He had to go and see for himself. Face the living, face the dead.

If she was really dead, it would put an end to his thoughts.

Dylan got out of the car, and Alberta followed suit. 

They approached the hotel door, banging on it and calling out, "Dorothy, are you in there? Dorothy, can you hear us?"

Meanwhile, the man upstairs who had been peeking out the window hurried back inside.

 "Big brother, there's a young man driving a heavy truck outside. Looks like he's here for this Dorothy.

 And there's a woman with him too!"

The leader heard this and thought, A young man and a woman looking for Dorothy, plus a heavy truck. 

If things go south, that truck will definitely come in handy!It's like they sent exactly what we needed. 

"Second and third, shut this woman up, don't let her make a sound. 

You two stay hidden in this room and don't come out. 

Fourth, sit off to the side, don't let them see you right away. 

Fifth, you go downstairs and open the door, bring those two up. 

I'll hide in the opposite room. 

When you hear my signal, we'll attack together and control those two!"

"Got it!"

Meanwhile, Dorothy, who had temporarily escaped danger, wondered who could be looking for her at this time. 

But whoever it was, perhaps this was her only chance to escape the clutches of these people. 

She couldn't let them succeed, or it would be all over.

...

Dylan stood at the hotel door, seeing no movement inside for a while, he was about to start prying the door open with a crowbar.

Suddenly, the hotel's rolling shutter door lifted, revealing a scruffy-looking man inside.

Dylan was surprised.

 Why was there another man?

With his menacing appearance and the smell of alcohol emanating from him, he didn't seem like a hotel employee.

"Who are you? Where's Dorothy?" Dylan asked warily.

"Oh, I'm a friend of Dorothy's, just happened to get stuck here. 

Dorothy isn't feeling well and can't come down from upstairs! She asked me to bring you up to see her!" 

The man spoke, he was the Fifth of the group

 He tried to maintain a smile, though it looked more like a grimace.

Dylan considered for a moment.

 "Alright, lead the way!"

Alone, Dylan didn't perceive him as a threat, especially since he wasn't armed. The man posed no real danger to him.

As they entered the hotel, the Fifth's eyes lit up when he saw Alberta's face.

Such a beautiful woman, and so young! Today's a lucky day.

Feeling the man's lecherous gaze, Alberta glared at him in disgust.

Seeing her reaction, the Fifth became even more excited.

She's got personality, she's got attitude, I like her!

As the two entered, the Fifth quickly pulled down the rolling shutter, dimming the light inside the hotel.

"Why did you close the door?" Alberta asked cautiously.

"Hehe, isn't it cold? Let's go, hurry upstairs. Dorothy is waiting for you upstairs!" 

The Fifth rubbed his hands together, urging them on eagerly.Seeing the Fifth turn and head towards the stairs, Alberta pulled Dylan aside and whispered, "I feel like something's off about this guy, he doesn't seem like a good person."

"Don't worry, I'm here, everything will be fine," Dylan reassured her.

Dylan also sensed that something was off about the man, but what if he really was Dorothy's friend?

 If he acted now, it might ruin any chance of cooperation.

*Crash!*

Just as they reached the foot of the stairs, there was suddenly the sound of breaking glass from upstairs.

All three of them froze in their tracks.

The Fifth hesitated for a moment, then turned to the two suspiciously and said with a smile, "Dorothy probably just accidentally knocked over a glass, let's hurry upstairs and check it out!"

Though he said this aloud, in his mind he was thinking, "What's wrong with those guys upstairs?

Alberta stared at the Fifth intently. 

Just a moment ago, she had a strange sensation, as if she heard the Fifth's voice in her head.

*[What's wrong with those guys upstairs?

She couldn't afford to be careless. She leaned in close to Dylan's ear and whispered, "Be careful, there are others upstairs! He's not Dorothy friend!"

Dylan glanced at her in confusion and whispered back, "How do you know?"

Frowning, Alberta didn't know how to explain. 

She simply whispered, "I'm not sure, but let's be cautious!"

Dylan eyed the Fifth with suspicion. 

If he really was Dorothy's friend, that would be one thing, but if not, and he dared to make a move against them, he wouldn't hesitate to retaliate.

"Alberta, you stay downstairs.

 I'll go up and check on Dorothy!"

Since there might be danger, it was better not to risk Alberta going upstairs. If something happened unexpectedly, she would only get in the way.

Understanding his intention, Alberta took a few steps back. "Okay."

Seeing Alberta not going upstairs made the Fifth anxious, but he reasoned that with Dylan alone and unarmed, it would be easy to subdue him.

 Once they had him under control, would this girl still have a chance to escape?

Dylan followed the Fifth upstairs, discreetly retrieving a military knife from his pocket along the way.

When they reached Dorothy's room, suddenly, a person emerged from behind the door.

"Attack!"