Getting a room.

Walking up the stairs and up to the second floor of the building, Carl looked down at the number of his key and read each door on his way down the hall. It was well lit, with framed posters and portraits on the walls, most if not all of them movie posters involving a monster of some sort or were science fiction or horror films in their day. Some of them were signed by their directors, others which were smaller portraits were autographed as well. It made the man wonder if the place wasn’t just a movie store that had a bar and dance club attached.

Looking up he spotted a woman leave her room and make her way towards him, she was tall, athletic, and wearing what looked like a cocktail dress made to look like a leopard print hide, accented with beaded jewelry etched to look like tiny skulls. Her belt looked like it was comprised of said bones with a bird’s skull for a buckle. Her skin was a dark olive brownish green with dark brown freckles at her shoulders where her dreadlocks cascaded down and over her back almost as low as her waist. She was rather exotic… Especially with the two sets of mandibles that covered her face. Slowing down and moving to the side of the hall to let her pass, Carl found she slowed and stopped, almost to appraise him with her eyes just as she came to a stop and smiled.

“You’re new.” She said with what sounded like a Haitian accent as she smiled behind those finger long mandibles to reveal sharp teeth. “Staying long?”

Scratching the back of his head, Carl shifted his gaze away for a second before he felt a finger press up under his chin and point his face back up to look back into her eyes. Her eyebrow raised as she smirked.

“Uhm… We just got caught in the storm, this is the only place for miles to get a decent sleep and gas up before heading into California.”

Hearing a muffled thud of a thunderclap overhead, the two returned to making eye contact as she narrowed her eyes and smiled, scratching her finger at the man’s short scruff of facial hair before continuing her way down the hall to the stairs, an exaggerated sway to her hips as she did so.

“Don’t be a stranger new one, not all of us bite, and I enjoy the hunt too much to let it end quickly.”

“uhm… Yeah, see you soon too.”

Seeing her leave, Carl shook his head and chuckled to himself.

“Damn, this place is wild… These ladies REALLY get into playing the part.”

Reading off the numbers of the rooms on his way to find his rental, he found his room and unlocked the door to step in. Turning on the light to get a better view, it was very well furbished for a room above a dance club. He barely heard the music coming from downstairs. Which was a bit of a relief for him as he sat down on the bed and sighed with exhaustion, the night’s drive finally taking its toll on the man as he took off his shoes and sat. Taking in the room, it was a fair size for a single occupant. Blue wallpaper covered the walls, and the floor was carpeted with a matching hue, with white trimming. There were no windows, but there were at least paintings hanging on the walls to distract from the monotony. Taking off his jacket and hanging it over the headpost of the bed, Carl dragged himself over to rest fully over the sheets and look up at the ceiling.

“Damn this is a weird place… At least we won’t be here long.” Breathing in and exhaling slowly. Carl swept a hand through his dark hair and draped his fingers down his face when he heard thunder overhead. “Maybe we can still get our deposit back from the hotel in the city, save some money after this whole thing.”

Getting up sluggishly to his feet, the man went back to the light switch and turned off the lights, intent on getting a good night’s sleep after returning blindly to the bed and accidentally bumping his foot on the bedframe before rolling overtop the sheets again and falling asleep.