Chapter 4: Hotel Of Horrors (part one)
Suggested Track: Snow White Queen - Evanescence
About a week after Howleen's suicide attempt, Clawd and Clawdeen organized a little investigation to track down TVC. Clawd had intended the investigation to be much like the one for Harmony's murder, but since the circumstances were different this was either going to be really easy or really difficult.
It also didn't help that not all of the original investigation team could be there. Abbey needed to stay home to care for Icer, Howleen was out for obvious reasons, Valentine could not be reached, and Draculaura was at a family reunion. So, it was just Clawd, Clawdeen, Heath, Jackson and Frankie, though soon Duece offered to tag along. The six students met near the part of town where Howleen's incident occurred.
"Are you sure we wanna be out here?" Jackson asked nervously. "This is a really bad part of town."
Clawd scanned each building silently before growling, "Whatever it takes, those idiots will pay."
"So, how do we start?" Duece inquired, grimacing when he noticed a smashed heroin needle on the ground in front of him. "Can we start looking for clues or something? This is making me uncomfortable."
Frankie suddenly had an idea, and she turned to the rest of the group. "I have an idea! How about we split up? We can get into separate groups and check out different areas."
Clawdeen nodded. "I like that idea. And if we see something interesting, we can just text or call each other."
They spilt into three groups of two: Clawd and Clawdeen, Duece and Heath, and Jackson and Frankie. They each went their separate ways and began to look around.
Jackson and Frankie soon found themselves lurking through a dark alleyway littered with old alcohol containers and trashcans. Jackson chewed on his lip nervously.
"I don't think we're supposed to be here, Frankie. I mean- look!" he pointed to a nearby sign that simply read, "NO HUMANS. TURN BACK OR DIE".
Frankie read the sign with a raised eyebrow, but soon something else caught her attention. "Jackson! Look, it's that symbol Howleen drew!"
Sure enough, drawn on the wall in spray paint was a smiley face with a pair of fangs and TVC written directly underneath it. Jackson neared the graffiti, looking it over.
"This must have been where she woke up," Jackson put his hand on the wall, then he had a thought. "What building is this, anyway?"
Frankie and Jackson walked down the alley until they came to the front of the building, and much to their surprise, it was a seemingly abandoned hotel. The windows were boarded up and the paint had peeled.
"Whoa!" Frankie exclaimed with wide eyes. "This is amazing! Do you think someone's here?"
Jackson gave Frankie a somewhat nervous look. "I-I guess there's only one way to find out."
The two exchanged a glance, and began to try the door. It was unlocked, and after much hesitation they entered.
The lobby hadn't been dusted in a while. However, it looked as if someone had been there recently, for there was a small bowl of fresh fruit on the check in desk as well as a laptop. Jackson and Frankie began to explore the area with wide-eyed wonder.
"Wow," Jackson breathed, picking up a dusty book of magic spells up off the check in desk. The book was, judging by the date, almost fifty years old.
Frankie suddenly heard a creaking sound and grabbed Jackson's arm. "What was that?!"
They remained very silent, and when there was nothing, Frankie released his arm. "Sorry," she muttered sheepishly.
"Don't be sorry, dear!" an obnoxiously loud female voice roared out.
Jackson let out a shriek and dropped the book he had been holding. Frankie looked up in alarm, seeing somebody standing by the elevator.
She was a small, yet skinny female vampire. She had long, bleached white hair that cascaded down to her waist along with a copious amount of make-up and a shimmering, red skirt. She grinned at them, her red eyes glittering.
"So sorry I startled you, poor things," she swaggered towards them, stopping directly in front of Jackson. She appeared to be sizing him up. "What brings you two here?"
Frankie cleared her throat, taking a step back from this stranger. "Um, we're –uh- looking around,"
The vampire's grin widened almost maliciously. "I see. Well, my name is Eris. What do they call you two lovely children?"
"I'm Frankie, and this is Jackson." Frankie tried her best to smile, but it was difficult since Eris's overwhelming amount of perfume was getting to her.
Eris suddenly reached out and stroked Jackson's face wit the back of her hand. "Shall I give you both a tour?"
Before either of them could respond, Eris grabbed them both by the hands and led them into the elevator. "Come along!"
The elevator doors closed, leaving Frankie and Jackson in a tight space with Eris, and this made them extremely uncomfortable. Jackson tried his best to avoid Eris's red gaze, and soon his eyes shifted upon a plaque of the elevator wall.
The plaque said simply, "GRACIOUSLY DONATED BY ERIN AND VAMPIRA"
Jackson quirked an eyebrow. What?
The elevator let out a soft 'ping', and the doors slid open. Showing off her fangs that were nearly as white as her hair, Eris strode into the hallway with outstretched arms.
"Welcome to TVC!" she announced. "This is a shelter for poor, sickly and abused vampires who have no one left to turn to," at this moment, Frankie and Jackson knew that something was bound to go wrong.
Eris led them down the hallway, and hotel room doors began to creak open as the group passed. A small child even became visible to Jackson for a moment, but the poor creature was quickly ushered inside by its mother.
Eris soon led them to a double-door hotel room with the words "PRESIDENTAL SUITE" written in faded letters on a plaque. The vampire woman opened the door with ease and let the two teenagers in, revealing the tackiest room Frankie was sure she had ever laid eyes upon. The walls were painted bright gold, and the floor was decked in neon pink carpeting. A bright purple hope chest covered in several items of clothing including a woman's thong didn't help either.
Jackson's attention, however, drew quickly to two young vampire men sitting on a cheetah print couch in the middle of everything watching a soap opera on an old TV. Jackson tried to remember what Clawd had said regarding the two vampires Howleen had seen before she was attacked:
"One had long red hair and he was wearing an ugly suit and tie. The other one had short, brown hair and a black jacket with no shirt."
A wave of fear and excitement washed over Jackson when he realized these two vampires fit that description exactly.
"You moron!" the red haired one hollered at the TV while tossing some popcorn at the screen. "Why would you dump her!? She's rich!"
The brown haired one in the black jacket turned around, seeing Eris with two newcomers. He stood up immediately and went to greet them.
"Why, hello, there!" he smiled, showing an impressive pair of fangs. "Who are these, Eris?"
Eris reached up and ran her greasy fingers through Frankie's hair with a smile. "These adorable love bugs have just come to take a tour of our home! Why not introduce yourselves?"
"Of course!" the vampire boy smiled, offering Jackson a handshake. "The name's Damien. What's your name?"
Jackson took the handshake, feeling himself quiver with fear. "My-my name's Jackson,"
"And I'm Frankie," she shook Damien's hand as well. Though she was somewhat afraid of Damien, he did seem very charismatic and friendly.
"That over there on the couch is Graverobber," Damien gestured to the red haired vampire, who in response whistled at Frankie.
"Damn!" Graverobber stood up, coating his fingers in saliva while winking at her. "Somebody better call a cop, 'cause you got fine written all over you!"
"Please don't scare her, Graverobber," a gentle, yet firm female voice scolded from a corner of the room.
Neither Jackson nor Frankie had noticed the small, dark-haired girl sitting at drawing desk near the window. She looked to be a normie, but when her eyes locked with Frankie's, she flashed a shy smile and proved she was a vampire.
Frankie liked her immediately, and went to introduce herself. "And what's your name?"
"I'm Anna," she almost whispered, resting her hand in Frankie's for a moment rather than shaking it. "I'm Damien's girlfriend."
In response, Damien walked up and put his arm around Anna, squeezing her tenderly. "Isn't she just precious? I'm so lucky to have her," The two shared a kiss, but Anna looked unhappy once they broke away. This concerned Frankie, but she said nothing.
Meanwhile, Jackson texted Clawd, simply saying,
"We found them. We found the guys your sister saw."
Yet another cliffhanger! Man, I suck, don't I?
So, your thoughts? Please review and tell me what you think Eris's intentions are. Is she good? As she bad? How about the others? Tell me what you think!
Until next time, fellow monsters!
