OddityVille: Ground Floor (Book One)

Chapter One: Welcome to Derad

Two glass doors slide open exposing the contents of a lobby clearly, without the obstruction of tinted glass. A faint buzzing remains in the air, as the one who parted the doors stands stationery just outside of them. Her eyes coast over tile floors and painted walnut walls, almost as if she isn't even sure she's in the right place. A friendly face emerges and begins making its way around a polished desk at the head of the lobby, watching her as it does so. The clopping of solid soles against a stone foundation becomes clear amongst the ringing of distant telephones and the murmuring of others who bring life to the room.

"Hey there," a hand branches away from the man as he speaks to her, awaiting her own to meet it, "you must be the new security guard." The woman smiles and nods as she accepts the greeting, shaking his hand. "Lindsy, is it?"

"Yes, sir." She palms at a nametag on her uniform, allowing the ceiling lights to bounce off the coated plastic surface.

"Excellent! Come on in, no need to be a stranger." Holding the same smile he had fashioned onto his thin lips since the moment he saw her, he presses a hand against her back, guiding her inside and allowing the doors to rest. "Let me show you where you'll be stationed."

The two cross the rather large lobby floor and make their way toward the dual elevators just beyond the front desk. As they stop in place, the man puts out a crooked finger and presses an arrow aiming towards the ceiling. As he does so, it lets off a yellowish glow and the elevator to their left opens up with a ding.

"Ladies first." Lindsy gives him another faint smile and steps into the small box, followed closely by the man. He then presses a button labeled "1", just above another labeled "G". "We're going to go to the first floor of rooms, just to show you where the second guard station is. You won't have much use in it, as you'll be monitoring the ground floor from... well... the ground floor." Lindsy watches the bar of lights above the elevator doors, as the second from the left lights up, and a ding signals that they have arrived at their stop. The door then opens and the pair start down the right end of the hall, passing several guests who seem less than enthused to be staying at the establishment. "Here we are!" The man adjusts the cuffs of both sleeves on his suit jacket before turning a silver door handle and stepping to the side for Lindsy to walk in. "This is Jeff. He'll be a regular here and you'll likely cross paths with him often." The one called Jeff looks away from a set of monitors he had been observing and raises a hand, giving the wrist a quick flick to greet her with. The plump man seems less than surprised to see a new face. "He... isn't much for talking."

"I am, though!" Another guard appears from a small open archway behind Jeff, at the left end of the room. Lindsy notices his hasty pace as he rushes over to a low-sitting, round table and places a bowl of chicken soup on the bare surface. "Hot!"

"Ah, and this is Michael!" The man's scruffy five o'clock shadow curls up into a meaningful, salesman grin as he shakes hands with the guard. "I didn't think you would be in today."

"I didn't think so either." The guard lets out a titter, almost struggling to return the expression. "How are you today, Mr. Moore?"

"I'm doing fine myself, and you?" The guard doesn't reply and instead turns towards Lindsy, still shaking Mr. Moore's white-knuckled palm.

"Hey, my name is-"

"Michael, I know." Lindsy smiles at the stranger and pops up on her tip-toes before dropping her heels against the floor once more.

"Right." He then breaks away from Mr. Moore's grip and shakes Lindsy's hand. "It's good to have you onboard." Lindsy notices almost immediately that Michael's hand is shaking, and that the painful expression on his face is faltering.