The Elementals - The Ice Princess

Chapter 36

I am finished packing in about 15 minutes. Jared on the other hand is still trying to figure out what provisions we need. I can see him with his backpack opened on the kitchen counter and he is shoving in bottles of water and a few canned goods.

I decide to leave him alone for a few minutes and walk down to the front desk to leave a message for Alexander and Laney who still haven't shown up.

The hallway outside the room is quiet. It's lit by older looking lights that hang on opposite sides of the wall. Some of the glass coverings are chipped or cracked and you can see the incandescent bulbs that emit a yellowish glow to the hallway.

The paisley patterned wallpaper looks to be aged and in some areas you can see that the glue has finally given way either because of time or moisture that has built up over the years.

The hotel isn't bad or dirty by any means, but it certainly isn't a five star kind of place, which is probably why since we've been here, I've only seen one other family. They were a young family with two girls. I only saw them checking in a day or so and haven't seen them since.

The carpet is soft under my feet which significantly reduces the amount of noise that I make as I walk down the empty hallway.

Before long, I find my way to the lobby and the reception desk. Sitting behind the desk, reading a novel, the same novel she's been reading for the past few days is the same older lady that has been here since we arrived. Her name is Alice. She looks to be in her mid-sixties, maybe early seventies and owns the place with her husband, John. John is the maintenance guy around here but apparently is pretty busy as we've never seen him. Alice has white hair and a nice smile, which she greets me with as I make my way to the desk.

"Yes dear. What can I do for you?"

"Two of my friends are supposed to be coming back. I want to leave them a message please if they come through this way."

I hand the letter over to Alice who accepts with that reassuring smile. If I had known my grandparents, I would have hoped that they were as nice as Alice. Even though I don't really know her, her presence has a calming influence. Plus, she strikes me as the kind of lady who has a million interesting stories filled with adventure. They would be the kind of stories that you could listen to for hours on end without ever hearing the same story twice or becoming bored.

"I will make sure that if they come back, they will get it dear."

I watch her as she places the envelope in a mail slot at the back of the desk with our corresponding room number on it.

I turn to walk away and when I do, I hear as strange noise which causes me to stop and look around. The noise sounds like a mosquito buzzing around my head. I turn to look and when my eyes meet with Alice, the buzzing sound stops.

She offers another one of her signature reassuring smiles and goes back to her book.

Something doesn't feel right.

I hurry back to the room and find Jared is just finishing packing his bag.

I close and lock the door quickly and begin to shut the lights off.

"Hey! What are you do..."

"Shhh." I tell Jared. "Something is not right, we need to go now."

"What are you talking about?"

No sooner do the words leave Jared's mouth when there is a knock at the door. Jared looks over at me and shrugs his shoulders. I motion for him to get down, which is he does.

The knock happens again, a little harder this time. And after this knock, the door handle is shaken as though someone were trying to lock mechanism to make sure it was engaged.