Powering Up (a RV Fanfic)

Chapter 5: Rescue Mission

The drive was silent. Yeri gave Joy the address of the asylum and Joy found a motel on the way; a shady motel called 'Passerby Motel'. As Joy drove them to the motel, everyone was sound asleep. Seulgi comfortably snored, leaning on the window at the back with Yeri lying on her lap. Irene had the front seat and used one of Joy's neck pillows to rest on. The scene of Joy commanding the man from GOP flashed through her mind and shivered. How could she do this? She was guilty. She had never killed anyone. What if that man had a family? Her thoughts continued to drown her mind as she quietly sobbed. Even in a car filled with people, she felt alone; no one to comfort her.

"Your destination is to your left, arrived," the GPS directed. Joy turned left into the empty parking lot. The motel looked old and dusty, the complete opposite of her luxurious house. She glared at the motel with disgust.

"Come on guys, wake up," Joy demanded. "We're here." Irene calmy lifted her head up and rubbed her eyes. Yeri sat up and stretched her arms and legs, letting out a loud groan. Seulgi whimpered, craving more sleep. They all eventually stepped out of the car and walked through the glass doors of the lobby. A nice lady greeted them.

"Hello! What can I do for you?" she greeted in a kind tone.

"Can we have two double rooms?" Joy asked.

"Of course!" she replied, "Why are you here so late?"

"We're just lost travellers, that's all," Joy lied, forcefully smiling. The lady handed her the keys for their rooms and the sleepy girls followed Joy to the hallway. "Rooms 21 and 23," she whispered to herself, trying to find the rooms. She stopped at the rooms labelled '21' and '23'. "Here we are. Yeri can go with me to room '21' and you two can go to room '23'."

"Finally, I can get some sleep," Seulgi groaned.

"This place stinks," Yeri complained.

"I think someone died right here, on the carpet I'm stepping on," Irene added.

"Just deal with it," Joy argued, "It's the closest place." Irene sighed loudly in acceptance. There was no other place. Joy opened the door and saw the most basic room. A double bed to the right, bathroom to the left. Basic. Irene and Seulgi's room was a mirrored version.

"Are you sure this was better than a cleaner motel that was slightly further?" Yeri asked as she flopped onto the bed, covering the whole surface. "I actually don't care anymore."

"Hey, can you move," Joy giggled, nudging Yeri's legs to one side of the bed. She slipped her shoes off and crawled under the weirdly itchy bed sheets. Changing her mind, she, instead, slept on top of the sheets like Yeri.

"I'm glad I found you guys," Yeri suddenly said.

"Aw, thanks."

"It's nice having help from others."

~

"This looks straight out of a horror movie," Irene continued complaining. She looked at the bed where Seulgi was already sleeping on. Seulgi's relaxed figure calmed Irene who accepted the dusty bed and lay down next to her. She stared out the window at the glowing crescent moon, lighting up the gloomy room. Ignoring the disgusting room surrounding her, she relaxed on the bed, releasing all of her anxieties.

~

Joy and Yeri slept in silence on the rickety bed. The lock of the door clicked and the door creaked open. Joy and Yeri looked up at the figure standing in the doorway. The figure stepped into the light, it was their receptionist.

"Hello!" she greeted in a lovely tone. "You have to come with me." She retrieved a spraycan which released a thick mist. Yeri screamed and banged the wall as Joy coughed aggressively.

~

Thud, thud, thud. Irene woke up to a continuous thudding noise on the wall. "What the- Seulgi wake up!" Irene yelled. They left their room and entered room '21' which was filled with a mysterious pink mist, hovering over the floor.

"Yeri? Joy?" Seulgi called. They weren't there. Yeri appeared behind them with Joy and hugged their shoulders.

"Shh," Yeri said, making them invisible from the receptionist.

"Hello?" the receptionist called, walking slowly around the room. They encircled the room, avoiding her. She suddenly dropped a grenade which released dark purple fumes, stronger smelling than the previous one with pink mist. They tried to leave through the door, but the fumes blurred their vision. They blindly fumbled around the room, hands linked. Joy felt Yeri's grip to her left weaken. Yeri dropped onto the dusty carpet, Joy followed and so did Seulgi and Irene.

Irene sat up, nauseous and stretched her cramped neck. Joy was also already up while Seulgi stayed on the ground. Irene crawled through the disintegrating mist and shook Seulgi's shoulders.

"Seulgi," Irene called. "Wake up." Seulgi's eyes strained open, sitting up with difficulty.

"Where's Yeri?" Joy asked, concern ridden in her tone. "She's not here..."

"Where's that crazy receptionist?" Irene added. They sat in silence to process the situation. The mist seeped out of the room and disappeared, like how Yeri disappeared from 'Room 21' that night.