NO ESCAPE?: The Hostel.

Toronto it is.. (CHAPTER 3)

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NOTE: Plain Italics are Lana's thoughts.
Narrator's POV:

Lana's heart was pounding with stress, she could hear her heart pounding in different places. The emotions were taking a toll over her body.

"So we're here", Lana muttered to herself as she moved her eyes around the busy Airport. Lana had never seen a more crowded Airport in her 19 years of existence. Safe to say, she would now be familiar with the rampant population.

Lana stood clueless for a few moments at the Airport, re-thinking her next move in this new city. "Call a cab? yes", Lana quivered as she took out her phone from her back pocket. She felt everyone's eyes judging her, almost as if she was being criticised by every random person there.

She called a cab as soon as she could and took a walk out of the menacing airport. As she walked out, she noticed that the cab had arrived.
The driver helped her out with the suitcase and sat in the driver's seat with Lana at the back.

She felt a bit relieved after the engine of the cab started and finally, she was starting to go away from the "weird looks" of the people at the airport.

"Um so you're new here madam I suppose?", the cab driver questioned as he adjusted the rear view mirror.

"Uh yes. I'm here for college", Lana answered while scrolling aimlessly through the weather app on her phone. She wasn't much of a talker. Not even in school. It was usually Laila who kept her mouth running.

"Oh college. Many students come here every year. Where are you from madam?", the driver questioned again but with a polite smile. He was in his 40s and seemed oddly familiar to Lana.

"I'm from Minnesota", she gave out a nervous chuckle.

"Oh that's nice madam. Have you booked a hostel yet or does the college you plan on attending offer those facilities", he furrowed his brows, a gentle smile on his face.

Lana was getting frustrated with the spontaneous questions, she clenched her jaw. The driver was asking too many questions, "Uh no I'm actually looking for one rn", she rolled eyes at him, knowing he wouldn't notice it.

"Oh well I happen to know a few hostels here and there. Do you want me to help you madam?", he insisted.

The conversation finally started to seem beneficial to Lana, he could actually help her out.

"Oh you can? That would be great. I need the hostel facility to be near my college so it's less travelling you know?", she was finally interested.

"Well that might be a tad bit difficult but could be easier depending upon your choice of college", he smirked, "What college do you plan on going?".

"Uh..The Technology Department of Science. Would that be possible?", she widened her eyes hoping to hear a yes, desperately.

"Oh no. That's actually WAY TOO far from any hostel facilities that I can think of. Do you have a budget or you're easy to go on high rental facilities?", the driver clicked his tongue.

Lana was devastated to hear that, "Yes I believe I do. I cannot afford lofty rental facilities so I'm looking for a decent hostel that does not empty my whole pocket. My uni does not offer that. Does anything ring a bell?", she furrowed her brows and leaned forward towards the driver's seat.

"Uh there might be two. Do I drive you there or?"

"Yes oh my, yes please!", Lana screamed in excitement.

"Okay"

There was a brief moment of silence which was shortly interrupted by a beep on Lana's phone. It was Laila's text.

"Hey how's things going? I already miss you!"

Lana took a quick glance at it but didn't wanted to respond to it yet. She was too busy glaring at the hustle of the city. This was nothing like the small town of Biwabik that she was used to. This place was grandiose, busy, awake. The people walking on the streets were even dressed better than Lana. Cars and public buses everywhere to be seen. It appeared as if nobody slept in this city.

"We'll be there in 10 minutes madam!", the driver exclaimed.

"Oh! Okay", Lana snapped out her fantasies about Toronto.

In the next few minutes, the car was already away from the busy city, she could see the green forests already. This seemed peculiar to her. How could a hostel facility be so deep in the forest. She started to get nervous, scared. She was constantly biting her nails, looking here and there to find something, a board or something that would indicate she was not getting kidnapped. Her heartbeat started racing, she was already sweating a little.

"Hey um where- where are we going?", Lana couldn't resist.

"Oh don't worry, we're going to the hostel I told you about", the driver peeked in the mirror, "It's a bit deep in the city because it is run by Nuns and was established in the late 80s. We'll be there soon!", he explained and broke out in a grin. His eyes were fixated on the road.

"Oh got it", Lana took a leap of faith in his answer and relaxed her muscles. She took a deep breath and took out her phone.

"Hey! Miss you too. I'm looking for hostels rn. Call you later", Lana sent back. She didn't want Laila to be keyed up about her.

The next few minutes were of pure silence. Lana's eyes were focused on the road. She had forgotten about the hostel and was instead delighted to see the greenery. Tall trees, thick bushes, birds of all kinds chirping. It was a soothing sight to watch.

Soon, there appeared a weird sketch of a building inside the forest, away from the the road.

"Hey what is this? Inside the forest?", Lana furrowed her brows.

"That? That's a nothing. Don't wonder about the things of the woods", the driver got serious, his tone rose.

Lana didn't respond to his rude tone. She found it rather strange that there was a building deep inside the woods.

She tried to have a clear look at it and it appeared to her like some hostel. There was a board on it that said, "The Disciplinary house for Girls", it was almost rusted. She tried to peek at it but the driver raced the car. In a few seconds, she was already past the woods.

Several questions started intruding Lana's headspace. She couldn't think of a reason behind the driver's sudden annoyance about her interest in the hostel, located deep inside the woods.

"Madam, you're young, you should be worrying about your safety. I know the young blood is curious about every little thing but sometimes, it's better to stay on the top rather than the edge", his voice got deeper and his eyes were stuck on Lana through the rear view mirror.

Maybe he was actually trying to say something. Something that Lana was unaware of. But what?
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