★ 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕲𝖎𝖗𝖑 𝖂𝖍𝖔 𝖁𝖔𝖑𝖚𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖉 ★ (𝓐𝓼𝓸𝓾𝓮)

The Hospitable Hotel

Nadia and Quigley had been walking for a while now. Their feet had started to hurt from walking but both of them were determined. It was quite diffult to walk on the snow, and the children's faces had begun to turn rosy. It was also started to snow and it didn't make the journey any easier.

"Looking at the map," Quigley said, the snow flakes were landing softly on his brown hair. He held up the map for Nadia to see. "We are about to-"

"Wait look," Nadia interrupted as Quigley looked up as well. "There is a small town over there," She said excitedly as she quickly walked over. The snowflakes that had landed on her hair fluttered around her as she ran. Quigley followed, chuckling to himself. 

The town was quite small and cosy looking. With cobblestone paths and small houses scattered around, there seemed to be no one around. All of the houses had cream coloured walls and brown roofs, with a small garden out in the front. A sweet aroma of bread and pastries made its way to Nadia's nose and her mouth watered. She was so hungry.

"This town seems deserted," Quigley noted as he looked around cautiously. Nadia nodded. Quigley walked up to one of the small houses and tried to peek in through the windows. 

"No, no one is in the houses either," The boy said. The pair walked along the cobblestone road and their footsteps echoed loudly as if they were the only living things around. Nadia gulped nervously. This whole place seemed sketchy.

Nadia looked around and she stopped when she noticed something weird. Tilting her head slightly she walked up to one of the houses and noticed a nameplate on the house. She dusted some of the dirt off and stepped back in surprise. Baudelaires was written on it in bold writing. She furrowed her eyebrows. What was the meaning of this?

What. Everyone on this earth who isn't an infant has used to ask this question at least once. But in Nadia's case, uncovering this, what would be a blessing and a curse.

"Baudelaires," Quiley read in a perplexed tone. With his mind swimming with possible explanations he quickly went to the next house.

"Hawkings, Quagmires, Smiths," Quigley read as he dusted as many names plates on the different houses as possible. "What does this mean?" Quigley asked looking at the nameplates.

"I don't know," The brunette muttered, her head was beginning to hurt from thinking too much.

The children walk deeper into the ghost town and they noticed a hotel nearby. It was the only building in the area that had at least 5 floors. It must have been quite a grand and beautiful hotel with mint coloured walls and a grand balcony but all of it was covered with dust and grime. The banner was also covered in dirt, except for the initiations.

"VFD," Quigley and Nadia said in unison sharing a look. The two children approached the building cautiously. When they went to open the door (which was also covered in dust) a robotic voice said. "You need to say the password to enter," Nadia jumped hearing the voice suddenly.

"What could be the password?" Quigley murmured to himself.

"V.F.D?" Nadia asked.

"Volunteer Fire Department?"

"The world is quiet here?"

"Baudelaires," Quigley said as the door opened. The two shared a nervously glance and stepped inside. 

If you have heard of the term, "Butterflies in your stomach" many people assume it's the phrase regarded with pleasant encounters. One may get butterflies in their stomach if they look at their crush, but one might also get butterflies when they go inside an unknown building with no sign of civilization for miles.