Chapter 1

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"So, where to?" The taxi driver asked. I finished buckling myself in before answering.

"To (town name), in northern (country)," You responded. A few seconds of silence passed as the driver typed the adress into the GPS tool, Google Maps. Then you were off.

"That town is real far. Where you from?" Asked the driver. You fiddled with the wristbands on your wrists, a nervous habit.

"Oh, no, I'm going home. I've been away for a week," You replied. The driver nodded.

"One of my sisters is from around there. Maybe I'll stop by and visit her after you're off," He said. I smiled slightly. He seemed friendly. You chatted for a bit before you reached for your phone, plugged your headphones in, and went silent. You staed at the blurry landscape outside the cab window, the rested your head on the vibrating glass. It made your teeth chatter slightly. You kept switching positions for about an hour before sighing and taking your headphones off.

"Hey, young one, tell me. What you work at?" Questioned the driver when he saw the headphones around your neck. You bit your lip.

"It's not much, just a fast food place. And then I have a part-time job at a cafe. It's just enough to keep me out of debt," You said. He nodded. After a couple of more questions, he returned his eyes to the road and I dozed off.

---

"Hey, kiddo. Wake up. We're almost there," The driver said. I awoke with a jolt. There were tall pine trees whizzing past us.

"Where are we?" I asked. The driver smiled crookedly,"I took a shortcut through the woods near the town. Recognize them?" I stared as he said that. I did start to recognize some marks, like the fallen pine, the burnt shack, and a stone pillar.

"I used to come here with my family on hikes," The driver said. I smiled. It sounded fun. My family had disowned me after I came out as LGBTQ+.

"My family hates me," I blurted out. Sadness came onto my face. The driver slowed down and turned to look at me.

"Danm. What did you do?"

"I'm part of the LGBTQ+ community..." You stopped yourself. You didn't know if this guy was homophibic. But he just nodded grimly.

"I understand. My husband also got disowned, but my family is supportive in any way they can be," He sighed. His eyes were still on you. Then you noticed a dark figure in the distance. It was in the middle of the road.

"What the..." You muttered. The driver continued driving, but his eyes still looked back. Then the figure straightened up and you realized what it was.

"STOP! THERE'S SOMEONE ON THE ROAD!" I shouted, seeing the human figure frozen in the headlights. The driver cursed and swerved to the side. The car hit a tree, and for a moment, there was silence. Then the gas tank exploded. And I got blown backwards. I could feel little pieces of metal and glass digging into my flesh. I struggled to get up, and the car was in flames. The driver was still inside.

And the other person... the one they were about to hit... where were they? Did they also die?

"No... no no no..." I gasped as I looked around, Adrenaline and panic still controlling me. That's when I noticed a strange structure in the edge of the woods. I picked myself up and ran limping towards it as fast as I could. As I got closer, I read the name of the building:

'Paradis Hotel'

"Never heard of it but WHO CARES THERE'S A FIRE!" You ran inside, shouting these words. The glass doors swung aside as you rushed in. It was pretty late, so the reception was empty. The receptionist glanced up at you and gasped, horrified.

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: May 15, 2023 ⏰

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