Chapter 3

The woman behind the counter was tall and lithe, with long dark hair spilling down past narrow shoulders. A burgundy blouse housed her slender frame, while its low neckline gave a tantalizing view of her pale breasts. High-waisted jeans made her legs seem a mile long, and as Willow looked up at her sharp features, she wondered if the women was wearing a tall pair of heels. Her face wore a smile that was welcoming and warm, but there was a look in her eyes that reminded Willow of a vulture or a ticket scalper.

It was unclear whether Willow's pulse was racing because the woman was so beautiful, or because every muscle in her body was screaming at her to run. It was as if a part of her was implicitly aware of some other aspect of the stunning hostess that her eyes were unable to perceive, discerning the character of some sort of carrion scavenger or lowly predator where her mortal senses could only see a woman. Her breath was caught in her throat as she stared at the other woman.

She must have been quiet a long time, though she couldn't tell how much time had passed before the woman repeated the question "Can I help you?" without a hint of annoyance or frustration, but with the slighted hint of a smirk that brought a light flush to Willow's face.

"Yes!" She stammered out, regaining her composure. "Yes, sorry, I was hoping you had a room available? I was headed to the coast, but the highway is closed, so I need a place to stay for the night."

Her skin crawled as the woman's eyes slowly travelled down her body, looking over her like a butcher checking her for the most delectable cuts of meat. Her smile widened as she lazily returned her gaze to meet Willow's eyes, and despite the alluring charm of the expression, something about it made the girl's stomach turn.

"Actually, we do. This may surprise you, but we don't get many tourists." She chuckled a little, motioning her hand outside. "Cedar Falls is not exactly a high-traffic area."

Willow gave a nervous laugh at the joke, forcing herself to approach the hostess. "I'm glad, you're really helping me out of a tight spot. I don't like driving through the mountains at night if I can help it, you know?"

The woman smiled and nodded, pulling open a drawer to fetch a room key. "Thats for the best, I think. The roads around here can be tricky. The state never seems to turn its eyes our way, so many of the roads around here are in poor repair. Really, I was honestly surprised when I heard they were doing maintenance on the coastal highway at all after all these years."

She handed a small brass-colored key to Willow, an accompanying tag with the number "7" written on it telling her which door it would unlock. She also pulled out an ancient looking debit card reader so Willow could pay for the room. "Welcome to the Falls Motel, Ms. Moon," she said with a smile, reading Willow's name off of her card. "My name is Amber Wood, please let me know if you need anything."

Willow nodded and left the office, taking in a deep breath as soon as she stepped outside, as if the room had been permeated by some horrible stench that would nose could only subconsciously detect. She felt the urge to get back in her car and leave right then, night driving and the cost of the room be damned. This motel and the town it sat in gave her the creeps, and the much bigger town of Dallas wasn't far away. Why not just leave this miserable little hamlet and go somewhere that felt safer?

A cold wind blew through the valley and made her shiver, just as the sun finally dipped low enough to make the streetlights that lined the one central road through town come on. Beyond that bright line that cut through the hills of the Coast Range, a heavy and suffocating darkness fell like a guillotine, cutting off the rest of the world. While she knew Dallas was only a few miles away, it suddenly felt like it may as well be on another planet. With a grim sense of determination that seemed wildly out of place for such a mundane moment, and with the image of Amber's devilish smile bringing a blush to her face despite the cold, Willow grasped the room key tight in her hand and turned away from her car, walking up the stairs of the Falls Motel towards her room on the second floor.

She had no idea she'd just missed her last chance to escape the madness before it began. Whatever occurred tonight in Cedar Falls, the only way out for Willow was to go through it.