Rabbit Blood

Chapter 2 - The Radio Demon

No luggage to carry at least, she thought grumpily as she climbed the stairs.

Leslie turned the key in the lock of door 42, at the end of a long corridor. The narrow room she emerged into was small, yet cozy. From where she stood, there was a single bed to the right, a bedside table, and a tall chest of drawers to her left. Finally she set eyes on a chair close to the outside-facing wall, where a mullioned window looked onto Pentagram City. Like most of the hotel, there was scuffed wallpaper, a color scheme of red, and a strong apple motif.

She took the time to examine the room for recording devices, or cockroaches, or perhaps some dusty old dildo left by a previous guest. It seemed to be fine.

What now? Leslie didn't feel like going downstairs to socialize, not after her second mugging incident in a month.

Sleep?

Sleep.

o - o - o - o - o

Half an hour later, Leslie woke to a jaunty knock on the door. When she answered, a woman in pastel clothes and an eyepatch was there, carrying a loose-leaf folder in one arm. Leslie had never seen a woman with an eyepatch before.

"Hey there. Leslie, right? I'm Vaggie, I'm one of the founders and managers. Came to give you a couple things, since our front desk is a fucking shambles..."

"Oh, thank you," Leslie said. She backed into the room, allowing Vaggie to enter.

Vaggie flicked through her papers, at last plucking out the ones she wanted. "So, we run plenty of different workshops here, which'll help you ease out of your sin. We do group talking therapy, skills-building, drug rehab, and some other things as well. They repeat a lot on the timetable, but that's because people need to work - and, obviously it depends what your sins and vices are."

Leslie nodded slowly. "What if I don't know what they are?"

"Huh. We'll have to figure that out, won't we? It's..." Vaggie's tone became softer, more confidential. "Look, if you're embarrassed to admit things, I get that, but it's a necessary hurdle to clear. For everyone."

"I don't know what I did," Leslie insisted.

"Suit yourself," Vaggie said, glancing at the next sheet for reference. "So on top of workshops, there are generalized teaching sessions. You'll be with a group, and stay with them until you're redeemed, or check out, whichever comes first. Group 1 meets tomorrow - early - so I can introduce you and some others then?"

"Sure." Leslie took the papers from Vaggie and tossed them gently on the bed. "Thank you," Leslie said. "I can't believe it. Been here an hour and I already met two co-founders."

"You move fast," Vaggie said with an amused smile that became affectionate. "Lovely, isn't she?"

"Er... no, I meant the super-tall one. Wassisname."

A sudden dark expression. "Alastor?"

"Yeah."

Vaggie glanced behind her and closed the door. "Listen," she said, "I don't want to scare you, but you should stay away from him."

"What? Why? He's helping run the place, isn't he?"

Vaggie made a few throat sounds of strangled admittance. "In a way, but I never wanted him here."

"So whose idea was it?"

"It's a long story," said Vaggie. "Obviously we could've used Lucifer's help, but he's not totally on board. The hotel was almost DOA when Alastor turned up. Now, not so much. He has enough ill-gotten power to ensure this place prospers, but he doesn't actually want the guests to succeed. Seeing people try and fail to self-improve is how he gets his kicks."