Chapter 3:
The building wasn't a skyscraper, that was for sure. But for some reason, it didn't seem too small either. About four stories and all of it was gray. As gray as the skies that surrounded it and the lightning that kept striking down, flash by flash. As they neared the old motel, Grandpa still pushing the van, Yami looked at it half-heartedly.
"I-I don't think this is such a good idea you guys…" He said inching towards Bakura for comfort. He got not but a smack on the head and Bakura looked away. Yami twiddled his thumbs and continued, "This place looks… old. I don't like it."
Marik shrugged, "Gramps looks old, but you like him just fine."
"He's not a creepy building, Marik. He's a respectable senior citizen and I, for one, am very happy that he's with us during our time of-"
"Read my lips. Old. Man. Now, shut it, Yami, you're giving me a headache." Bakura sighed and looked out the window. They'd stopped moving and that meant that either Grandpa had either collapsed, or that they were parked and ready to go in.
"O-Okay, boys…" Grandpa was opening the trunk, "We're here. Let's get your stuff out."
Marik and Bakura got out, using their hands to shield them from the harsh rain. They put on an act, complaining about how they felt feverish and tired from the trip. Thinking that perhaps they could get out of carrying Bakura's trunk full of shoes. And it worked. Bakura and Marik went inside while Yami and Grandpa dragged the bags inside.
"Ah…" Bakura shook his hair from side to side to get the water off. As he and Marik were the first two to get into the lobby of the motel, they took this opportunity to look around.
The inside wasn't any better than the outside. Gray and shabby walls, the wallpaper rolling down and meeting the blue carpet which was stained and blotted. On either side of the service desk were two dark hallways. Everything was covered in dusk and the place looked deserted.
Marik shook his head, "If Malik saw this place, he'd have a fit…"
"Tacky."
"Gah…!" Yami collapsed on the floor and was followed by Grandpa who had apparently carried him and the bags in.
"Oh, there you are. Where's my shoes?" Bakura asked but was ignored.
Grandpa stored up and wildly shook the water off his overalls and looked up, "Well. Let's go ahead and get a room, shall we? Hmm. Looks like no one's here…" He walked up to the desk, Yami by his side and they ringed the little bell that lay by one of the wilted plants.
Ding-ding!
"…" All four looked around, "Uh… anybody home?"
"You rang…?" A voice came from the desk and everyone whirled around, facing a lanky man that looked about twenty years younger than Grandpa. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, that was missing the bowtie and his black hair was bit tasseled. He starred at Marik for a minute before continuing, "… We welcome you to the Motel 37. My name is Shivers. How may I be of service…?"
His voice was long and drawn out, and seemed to hang in the air.
After shaking himself, mentally, Grandpa spoke up, "O-Oh, well, we've been inconvenienced by the storm and so we need a place to stay until it blows over."
"Of course, sir…" The gaunt man nodded and motioned towards the key rack behind him, "We have two rooms available, numbers 5 and 6. Will you take both, or…?"
"What do you think, boys?" He turned around to Marik, Yami and Bakura. Yami quickly volunteered to room with Grandpa and Marik and Bakura shrugged at each other. "We'll take the last two rooms, then."
Shivers held the two keys up and began to walk slowly down the first hallway. "… You must forgive me for not taking your bags. Our bellhop went missing last week… and I've got a bad back…"
Yami raised an eyebrow, "Your bellhop went missing? How?"
"Now, now, Yami. Don't bother our host with silly questions." Grandpa smiled at him, juggling two trunks in his arms.
"Yeah, Yami…!" Marik leaned over the Pharaoh's shoulder, grinning madly at him, "Don't be such a busybody. We just got here and you're already giving this freak the third degree."
"Hmm…" Shivers shot Marik a quick look and turned, unlocking the two rooms. Bakura blinked. He wasn't aware that they had gotten to the rooms yet. Looking back, he noticed that they had climbed a flight of stairs and they were now in a dark hallway only lit by a candle mounted on the wall. It was eerily quiet, the only noise being the somewhat distant sound of Yami and Marik's bickering. Other doors were down this hallway, but they seemed like no one was residing in them.
"Hey, Bakura! What're do you doing?" Marik's voice shook Bakura out of his observations. Yami and Grandpa were no where to be seen, probably in their room. Shivers was standing by the open door the Marik was peeking out of. "Let's go."
He walked by and before he got into the room, asked, "… Are there any other people here or are we the only ones?"
"You will meet the others tonight at dinner. Seven o' clock, in the dinning hall, third floor… The other two in your group are already aware." With that, Shivers walked away, back down the hallway and disappearing into the darkness.
Marik and Bakura looked at each other, "…"
In room 523 of the Chilly Water Resort, two hikaris were going insane. Of course, there were three hikaris in total, but, for whatever reason, one didn't seem as upset as the others. He sat on his bed, not smiling but a brightness shining through his features. The television's volume was down all the way so the boys could fret in peace.
"Oh Ra, oh Ra…" Ryou looked around the room, under his bed and behind the dressers, "Where's my bloody cell phone? Why do I lose things!"
Malik bit his lip, lifting the sheets for his bed, "I-I'm sure it's here, somewhere, Ryou, don't panic!"
"Gosh, gosh… What do you think is happening to them? They could be caught out in the storm! Or… or maybe they got on the plane and the plane is stuck in the storm!"
"And then the plane crashes!"
"Into the ocean, full of man-eating sharks!"
"AAHH!" They both screamed, clinging onto each other.
Yugi blinked, sipping his soda and giggling. "What are you two talking about? They're in a storm not a soap opera! No one's going into shark infested waters. I'd bet my puzzle that Grandpa has them back home."
Malik raised an eyebrow, "I'll take that bet."
"I was just kidding, Malik!"
"B-But my yami!" Ryou cried, sniffling, "He's never experienced a hurricane before…! He could think it's something to eat, run out there and get mowed over by a palm tree! This is all so depressing…"
"Calm down, Ryou. I'm sure Bakura's not that… stupid."
"Yeah. And, uh… okay, you guys, if you're that worried about Marik and Bakura, you can use my cell phone." Yugi pulled a small, black phone out of his back pocket and tossed it to Ryou.
He caught it and dialed seven numbers and it began to ring.
"Hello?"
Ryou tilted his head and whispered to Yugi, "It's your Grandfather."
Grandpa recognized the British accent and smiled, "Oh, Ryou. Is that you? Well, I'm guessing you're wanting to talk to Bakura, is that right?"
"Ah… well, not if he's busy, but… W-We heard about the hurricane and everything. Are you and the others okay? Where are you?"
"Oh, we're fine! We were out on the road when we heard about it on the radio and then we found this place called Motel 37. We're here right now. Yami and I are sharing one room and Marik and Bakura are sharing another." Grandpa looked down at Yami who was tugging on his sleeve, seemingly pouting. The older man smiled and said into the phone, "Ryou, can Yami talk to Yugi for a moment?"
"Sure, okay." He handed the phone to Yugi and he smiled, "Hi there, Yami!"
"Hello, Yugi. We're not going to be able to go to the Bahamas with you…"
"Aw, I know. But I'll bet it's kind of like the Bahamas. I mean, we're in a hotel and so are you. You'll just have to make the best out of it until the storm blows over."
Yami looked around at the cobwebs and the dusk and the dead spiders on the window sills, "I-I don't think it's the same thing, Yugi…"
"'Course it is! You've gotta have a bright attitude, Yami, and things will turn out for the better, 'kay?"
"Uh… 'kay." He said with confidence.
Yugi giggled, "Listen, I've gotta go. We're about to go to dinner, they've got a five star restaurant here, can you believe it? So awesome. Anyway, Yami, call me when you need to. Be good, okay? Bye!"
Yami almost whimpered a little bit when the line went dead and Yami handed the phone back to Grandpa. The old man sighed and looked around, "Well… it's not much, but it's good enough for right now, eh, Yami?"
"Oh. Yeah, I guess so. Um, hey…" He looked at the clock on the wall. It struck seven on the dot, "Shouldn't we be heading down to dinner?"
He blinked and smiled, "Right. Let's go get Bakura and Marik."
Knock knock…!
Grandpa turned on his heel and opened the door. Both yamis were standing there, looking bored. "… You ready?" Bakura asked, motioning towards the hallway, "We're gonna be late."
Yami glared at him, "Yes, we're ready. Anyway, let's go." He walked out of the room and the other three followed. They got to the dinning room with the greatest of ease, which was odd because all the hallways looked identical. It wasn't big at all. About the size of a medium kitchen, with a rather big table. The walls were littered in bad paintings of old people and the motel, itself. The boys were surprised at the amount of guests because there were barely any. An old woman, who was sleeping in her soup. Her daughter, who had some sort of phobia of bras. And this jittery man who didn't make eye contact with anyone.
Five minutes into it, Shivers came out with a cart. Marik raised an eyebrow at the man and asked, "Why are you here? Isn't there supposed to be some sort of chef?"
"… He disappeared last week. A little after the bellhop." He said coolly and continued to serve some strange soup.
Yami looked at it curiously. The pieces of chicken and tomato were floating rather freely, like leaves floating in a stream. It smelled a lot like feet and when he tried to eat it, he almost chocked. "G-Gah! What is this?" He demanded of Shivers who was waking up the old woman.
"Lydia. Lydia, wake up- Hmm? Oh… That is a secret family recipe of mine. It's been in my family for ages."
Marik sniffed it, "Smells like it's been sitting out for ages."
Bakura followed the other boys' example and didn't eat it. Yami and Marik actually went through the meal without arguing. The atmosphere was way too dense for that and they couldn't figure out why. Grandpa, however, wolfed down the entire bowl and asked for seconds. Of course he didn't receive a fresh bowl, he got the one that Lydia had fallen asleep in. He ate it anyway.
Afterwards, when the table was being cleared and the guests retired to their own rooms, quietly, Shivers filled the cart and asked Marik to help him get everything back into the kitchen.
He winced and took a step back, "Eh, sorry, man… Can't. You see, I have this ulcer and it's just popped up, so I'd better take a lay down."
Bakura saw the man's eyes shift to him and he scooted to Marik's side, "And I've gotta help him…! You know, just to make sure he's okay and everything…" He felt a little something tugging at his shirttail and it was Yami who had hidden behind the taller yami.
"That's okay, Shivers. I'll help you." Grandpa got up from the table and walked into the kitchen, after Shivers.
"Grandpa…!"
"I'll be there in a moment, Yami." He waved the boy away, "I need to work out these old bones, anyway."
"… A-Alright." He nodded and went with Marik and Bakura back to their hallway.
While on the walk back, Marik looked back at Yami who was starring at the paintings lining the hallway wall, "Admiring art, are we, Pharaoh?"
"Ah… No. These pictures look kind of weird, don't you think? I mean… Who the heck paints about one person all the time?"
"What?" Bakura raised an eyebrow, and looked closer at the painting, "These aren't all one person. There's no way it's all-"
"Alright, cut it out!" Marik said, opening the door to his and Bakura's room, "Paintings are stupid. Yami, you and Gramps, just go to bed. You're getting on my nerves… Wait, where's the old one?"
"Huh?" Yami looked around. "G-Grandpa? Grandpa, where did you go off to?"
Bakura shushed him, "Quiet! You're going to cause the other people to come out here and eat you. Ra knows they could use the food, that stuff at dinner was awful. Bleh."
"Dinner! Grandpa must be on his way back, c'mon!" He quickly grabbed Marik and Bakura's wrists without thinking and rushed them up a flight of stairs, into the dining room. They tore their arms away when he began to search under the tablecloth. Yami called Grandpa's name a few times and nothing but his echo came back to him.
"Yami, give it a rest. Maybe he's back at the room."
"…!" He flew back downstairs and Marik and Bakura followed, cracking their necks and making fun of the naked women in the portraits on the walls. The door opened with Yami behind it and he looked inside, "Hey, Grandpa? Are you back?"
Marik tilted his head, "Pharaoh, I think you're talking to thin air…"
"B-But… He can't be gone! Grandpa! Where are you!"
Nothing but air answered his call.