Briar Preparatory Academy

The Road Ahead

Kate POV

Preston drives for a good five hours before we stop and take a break. By now it's about 2 am. It was 9:00 pm when we pulled out of the Academy grounds. Seth is fast asleep in the back seat, and I feel my head starting to nod off as well. Preston pulls the jeep into a parking lot and turns the ignition off. I look up at the building in front of us. It's old and there are cracks along the plaster.

"Welcome to Hotel de la Cheapo." Preston says sarcastically and opens the driver door. Before he gets out, he glances in the rearview mirror at Seth. A sly grin crosses his face and he grabs the water bottle in the cup holder. He begins unscrewing the cap before I grab his forearm and glare at him.

"No."

"But--"

"NO!"

Preston rolls his eyes and gets out of the car. I turn around in my seat and tap Seth on the knee. He groans, turns on his right side, and says something along the lines of "You can't do it Professor Jones." I furrow my eyebrows and this time, I reach up and take his beanie off his head. Within seconds, he jumps and stares around the car with wide eyes.

"Where is it?" he says. He sounds demonic. I smile and toss him the beanie.

"I knew that would work." I say and hop out of the passenger side. I stroll around to the back, where Preston is unloading bags. He hands me mine and then straps his over his shoulder. I pick up my backpack with all the gear in it and sigh. Preston seems to be studiously avoiding contact with me. Fine, have it your way.

Seth comes around to the back and picks up his own stuff. Before the trunk is closed, I glance at the single duffel bag that has been left in the back. Celeste's bug-out. "Should we just leave it?" I ask, feeling something inside me stir.

"There's nothing in it we need." Preston says and shuts the trunk. I look down at my shoes. Seth is looking at hotel with a scrunched nose.

I roll my eyes and begin walking toward the building. We approach the main building, and push open the front door. Standing at the front desk is a very tired looking receptionist. When we walk in, his eyes light up. He looks over me and Preston, his eyes finally settling on Seth. A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips. He appears about our age, maybe slightly older, with dull brown eyes and jet black hair hanging loosely around his face. His name tag reads 'Landon.'

"Hi, can we have two rooms? One with two beds preferably?" Preston asks.

"Let me check if we have any rooms open..." The receptionist says, and turns around to type something on the computer.

We stand there awkwardly, not sure what to say. After a few minutes of searching on the computer, the attendant turns around to face us.

"We only have one room open right now. You came at a bad time... holiday traffic is still coming through. It has two beds and complimentary breakfast included. Fifty bucks a night." He tells us.

"Does it have a bathroom?" Seth mutters sarcastically.

"Give us a moment please." Preston says to the receptionist. He turns around and gestures for us to follow him. We all walk over to the corner of the lobby to discuss what our next move should be.

"What now?" I ask.

"Maybe there's another hotel..." Preston says, raking his fingers through his hair.

"There isn't. I checked before we got here." I say with a sigh.

"Well then I vote we take the room. It may suck but it's better than that cramped Jeep." Seth says.