Radiant Oddities (Anomaly Saga #4)

7

The room was pretty nice, by Alice's standards. The carpet was a dark red, matching the dark curtains that covered the one window. There were two beds, a TV, and a door that must have led to the bathroom.

Alice walked over and plopped down onto the end of one of the beds. "Finally, somewhere I don't have to stand," she said.

Chandler grunted in acknowledgement and carefully picked up the TV remote, pressing the power button.

The TV came on to a game of basketball, and Chandler sighed in relief. "Good," he said. "Not that it's basketball, because I've never been one for sports, but that it's not stuck playing static. Or repeating the same five second loop over and over." Chandler took off his fedora and brushed dust off the brim.

At that moment, the door to the bathroom swung open, and a man wearing a blue pinstriped suit and a gas mask with gelled hair stepped out of the bathroom. "Ah, yes," he said. "I love the hand soap in there. It's strawberry, you know."

Chandler put his hat back on and drew his gun. "Stand back, LaVarre."

LaVarre held his arms up in a gesture of surrender. "Well, this is mightily unnecessary. I simply enjoy the hand soap here."

Alice leapt off the bed and scrambled to get her tranquilizer gun. "You were being creepy," she said.

LaVarre shrugged. "Well, that's nothing new."

"Get out," said Chandler. "Right now."

"Come on, Jack," LaVarre said, taking a step back. "We're friends."

"Get out and stop spying on us," said Chandler. "I'm not joking."

"Fine, fine." LaVarre turned and opened the door. "Be careful, you two," he said. "This place is a land of dangerous unpredictability." And then he was gone.

"Who was that?" asked Alice incredulously.

Chandler shook his head. "Guy that tried to kill me last time I was here. I think he was under specific orders at the time, but still. Him being already here is more than a little concerning." A little skeptical, he got up to walk into the bathroom. His eyes scanned the room, decorated with porcelain, until they fell on one peculiar item.

"Ugh, he ate the soap!" Chandler groaned, throwing a hand up in exasperation. From the other room, Alice chuckled, following his trail to the bathroom.

Sure enough, there was a large bite mark in the little pink bar of soap. Little bubbles popped around it, suggesting LaVarre had taken it upon himself to clean up, as well.

"Do you think it actually tastes like strawberries?" Alice asked, leaning forward for a better view, her breath hot on Chandler's neck.

"Do you really want to try it?" Chandler shot back, turning to face Alice. His face was twisted in curious disgust.

"Honestly? Maybe a little. I mean, no. But yes," Alice contemplated. "I'm not going to eat the soap."

"Please don't. Who knows where it's been?" Chandler picked up the soap with a thick wad of toilet paper and dumped it in the toilet with a plop, promptly flushing it. He then proceeded to wash his hands thoroughly, but since there was no longer soap, he used the hotel- provided shampoo.

"Right," said Chandler. "Now that we've got that sorted out, you should rest." He ushered Alice out of the room. "I'm going to make sure the doors and windows are locked. Vents too. LaVarre is weird."

"Okay, okay," Alice said, walking over to one of the beds. She hadn't wanted to admit it, but the long drive and the walk to the hotel had made her significantly sleepy. She didn't bother to change clothes, she just dropped onto the bed. She put her glasses on the bedside table and closed her eyes. The last thing she heard before she drifted off to sleep was Chandler locking the window.