Chapter Three:

The Barren Seaside

Grim was sitting in one of the hotel chairs, which was leaning against the wall by a window above a noisy air conditioner. (No matter how nice the resort is…there always seems to be a noisy air conditioner) His book lay open in front of him. Beside him on the table was a cup of weak hotel coffee. Right now it was quiet. This was because it was early in the morning and Billy and his family were still asleep.

Gladys had tracked both Billy and Harold down by the arcade the night before. They had gotten lost and apparently had forgotten why they were there. After wasting twenty bucks of quarters on a Wonder grab machine Gladys had pulled them back up to the room. They were both now sound asleep and crowded by fluffy stuffed animals.

Grim lost his place in his book when an empty bucket was dropped in his lap. He looked up in aggravation at Mandy, who must've recently awakened.

"We need ice, bonehead. Get moving" Grim grumbled to himself, but knew better then to argue. He carefully placed a bookmark in between the pages he was currently on and stood.

"Don't know why you can't get it yourself you lazy brat." He grumbled as he headed towards the door.

The hallway was oddly silent. Normally it would be filled with the chatter of various families. Grim didn't think much about it as he headed towards the ice machine. On either side, the vending machines hummed with electricity. Grim shoved the bucket in the machine and pressed the button. The machine grinded away and the bucket began to fill.

"It vould appear that ve may run into each other a lot over the next few days, Grim…vasn't it?" Grim turned, slightly startled. Behind him, Rhoslyn was standing with her arms crossed and a slight smile on her face. Apparently the "morning look" didn't apply to her. Her black hair fell perfectly over her shoulders. She wore a slip that looked more like an evening dress and was carrying a bucket of her own.

"Do you mind?" She asked and extended it. Grim shrugged, suddenly tongue-tied. He took the bucket and shoved it in the machine along with his own.

"I noticed…ze people you vere vith yesterday. Your family?" She asked. Grim blinked and then shook himself out of his reverie.

"Uh...no…no definitely not! Those are just my…" Grim searched for the word that best described Billy and Mandy.

"Friends?" Rhoslyn asked, and then smiled.

"Well…sorta." Grim said and made a face.

"I see." She said and looked off for a bit. "I believe ze buckets are full."

"What? Oh…" Grim turned and cursed as he wrenched both buckets out of an avalanche of ice cubes. Several cubes fell to the floor and shattered. Rhoslyn looked amused as he handed her her bucket, smiling with embarrassment.

"Thank you." She said and took it from him. She started to head back to her room and then turned.

"Hopefully ve vill run into each other again soon." She said.

"Uh…yeah…" Grim responded nervously.

She smiled and continued down the hall.

XXX

When he got back to the hotel room he was in a good mood…for a little while anyway, until he saw that Billy was up. He had opened the door between their room and Grim and Mandy's and was currently jumping on the bed in his boxer shorts and yelling 'beach' over and over. His parents, who had learned to ignore him ages ago were sitting and drinking coffee at a small table by a window with a lovely view of the empty parking lot.

Mandy, however, looked as if she was about two seconds away from beating the crud out of him.

"Here's your ice your majesty." He said bitterly. Mandy took it from him, ignoring his snide remark and headed towards a pink cooler in the corner of the room. Her own stash of provisions she brought along for the trip.

Grim picked his book back up off the table and was about to sit when Mandy took it out of his hands and tossed it onto the bed.

"You can read later, Grim. Right now we're going to take Billy to the beach…so he'll shut up." Billy shouted and jumped off the bed. He landed on his face a few feet away from Grim.

"But I don't want to go to da beach! You take him!" He growled, as he watched Billy pick himself off the ground. "Or better yet…let him go himself…he's a big boy now…"

"No way Grim. I can't be trusted. I'd get lost…or drown…or I'd stick seashells up my nose. Come on, it'll be fun!" Billy said as he grabbed Grim's bony arm and began pulling him towards the door. "We can build a sand castle with little sand people and dungeons and a flag on top…or better yet, we can bury you up to your neck and wait until the tide comes in!" Grim protested as Billy pulled him out the door. Mandy followed them with a bored look on her face. She picked up her cooler on the way out.

XXX

"Ugh! I hate da beach." Grim said as the three of them walked out onto the sand. It was still early in the morning so the sand was cool not yet having the chance to heat up and start burning yet. "The water will probably be freezing too." Grim said, while crossing his arms.

"Stop complaining, Grim." Mandy said as she searched Billy's fanny pack (Because she certainly wouldn't wear one) for sun block. "Yuck!" Mandy pulled her hand out. She was holding a melted candy bar. "Billy this thing is full of melted chocolate and string…where the hell is the sun block I told you to bring?"

Billy, who was still in his boxer shorts, (No bathing suit…remember) ran away laughing as he caught site of a stand renting out boogie boards. Mandy shook the melted chocolate off of her hand and turned to Grim.

"All right bonehead, go get me some sun block. Here's ten bucks, there's a beach side store over there." Mandy shoved the money in Grim's hand and unfolded her beach towel.

Grim sighed and headed towards the shop as Mandy put a pair of sunglasses on and opened her cooler.

XXX

A tiny bell rang over the door as Grim headed into the air-conditioned shop, grumbling to himself. He went down a couple aisles, until he found the sun block, sitting atop a shelf next to jelly fish ointment and tanning spray. He selected the cheapest bottle and headed towards the counter. It was empty.

Grim set the sun block on top of the surface in front of the register and looked around curiously.

"Hello, is anybody working here?" He put his hands on the counter and leaned forward, looking left and right. To the right was a gray employees only door. "Hey, I don't have all day you know!" he yelled, his bony hand cupped over his mouth. He waited a minute, but no one replied. "Strange. Oh well…the brat'll just have to do without." He turned to head back to the door out to the beach.

"Can I help you?" Grim let out a cry of surprise and turned to see a thin man wearing an odd little smile, standing behind the counter. He didn't look like any beach merchant that Grim had ever seen before. He was wearing a long back suit, clearly velvet, with red lining. His hair was blond and pulled back into a tight ponytail.

"Uh…yeah…sure. I just wanted to buy this sun block." The man, his expression not changing, looked down at the sun block.

"Hmm…I see." He said, looking up again. "Well, take it then. I wont keep you." He had worrying blue eyes and was kind of giving Grim the creeps.

"Uh…don't I have to pay for it, man?"

The blond man took the sun block and held it out to Grim.

"It's just sun block, Mr. Reaper. It's on the house." Grim, looking uneasy, took the sun block and backed slowly towards the door. The man watched him, that strange smile never fading.

When he was out of the shop he cast it a suspicious look.

"Well…that was weird." He said to himself. "Maybe Mandy's right…maybe there is something odd going on around here." He headed back towards the beach where Billy and Mandy had a large portion of it pretty much to themselves.

"Here's your sun block." Grim said. Mandy, who was drinking a chilled coffee, took it.

"Where's my change?" Grim handed her her ten-dollar bill. Mandy raised her brow. "What'd you do, steal it?"

"No…it was free. Hey…this is odd, isn't it? It's almost ten o' clock and da whole beach is empty. There are at least ten beach side resorts here…you'd tink there'd be loads of people."

Mandy took off her sunglasses and looked around. The beach was empty. There were a few people, but even they were almost a half a mile away.

"Hmm…on the one hand, no people means a much more pleasant day at the beach." Mandy said, apparently thinking. "Still, We should check it out. Come on Billy." She dragged Billy away from the empty stand where boogie boards were rocking slowly in the gently sea breeze. "Let's check with the guy at the store."

Grim shook his head.

"He seemed a bit odd, if you ask me. I think we should check with the guy at the front desk. He was snobby…but fairly normal as far as expensive resort employees go."

"We're doing it my way." Mandy said, as she pulled Billy, by his collar, in the direction of the Beach side shop. "We'll check the shop guy first, then the desk clerk." Grim frowned, but knew better then to argue.

"Fine…" He said bitterly and followed her.

XXX

The shop was empty again. Grim crossed his arms and watched as Mandy went up to the desk and looked around.

"Hey! What kind of service is this?" Mandy yelled mildly. When there was no answer she turned towards Grim. "What exactly was so strange about this shop keeper?" Grim uncrossed his arms.

"Oh, so now you want to know. You could have listened to me before…" Mandy interrupted him.

"For once in your afterlife could you just answer the damn question without complaining?" She said in her typical monotone voice. Her eyes were burning with caution. Grim growled reproachfully, but opened his mouth to answer her question, he paused, however when the bell over the shop door rang again. All three of them turned towards the noise.

"Perfect." Mandy said sarcastically as Rhoslyn wandered into the store looking confused. She spotted Grim, Mandy and Billy and smiled a little.

"Good morning." She said in thick Transylvanian. "Is anybody vorking here today?"

"Apparently not." Mandy said. She grabbed Grim by the wrist and Billy by the collar and headed towards the door. "Come on, we'll come back later." Rhoslyn watched as they passed her. She smiled at Grim who returned her smile as they left the shop.

"Hey Mandy!" Grim said as he was dragged back onto the beach. "Hold on a minute!" Mandy halted and gave him an impatient look.

"What?" She asked heavily.

"Why don't we ask Rhoslyn if she's seen anything? She is after all the only other guest we've seen at the hotel." Mandy's frown deepened.

"And you don't think that's a bit odd?" Both of them turned as Rhoslyn came out of the store. Grim shrugged and turned towards her. Mandy watched the woman carefully. (Well…mostly she glared at her…but she was also watching in case the woman should reveal herself as some loathsome creature in disguise as an extraordinarily beautiful woman)

"Hey Rhoslyn." Grim said nervously. "You haven't noticed anything odd about this place have you? It's so empty. Is there like…something going on this weekend?" Rhoslyn seemed to give this careful consideration. (Mandy wondered if maybe she was some kind of idiot…or if careful thought caused her pain)

"Hmm…it's the first veek of spring. You'd think it vould be full…vouldn't you?" She looked around the beach.

"It is rather empty. I thought it was a bit odd this morning when I voke up and had the continental breakvast all to myself…" She brightened up a little. "If you vant to ask someone, there's a nearby bar…it was crowded this morning. Maybe zey vould know something."

Mandy stepped forward, thinking that any woman who visited a bar in the morning must be some kind of drunk.

"Actually, we were just going to ask the man at the front desk. Come on Grim." She pulled him a few steps in the direction of the hotel.

"He isn't zere." Rhoslyn said, causing her to halt. "I checked zis morning because no one answered my call for room service." Grim pulled away from Mandy. Mandy, however raised her brow.

"Well then, looks like we have no choice. Bar it is." Mandy glared.

"Wait a minute. You just said you went down to the continental breakfast. You called for room service too?" Mandy thought she saw Rhoslyn pause for a fraction of a second, but she might've been imagining it.

"I called down after ze breakvast, to see if zey had coffee. The breakvast did not have it…and I am terrible in the morning vithout my coffee." Mandy watched her for a moment suspiciously, then the expression dropped.

"Fine. Where is this bar?" The woman drew in a sharp breath through her teeth and shook her head sympathetically.

"Only problem is, no vone under ze age ove twenty vone is allowed in." Mandy narrowed her eyes.

"It's all right Mandy." Grim said pleasantly. "I'll go check out the bar and meet you back at the hotel room." Mandy's jaw tightened as she watched the woman slip her arm through Grim's companionably.

"I'll show you vere it is." She said sweetly. For a moment Mandy and Grim met each other's gaze. Mandy pointed to her watch.

"You have thirty minutes Grim." She said sulkily. Grim turned away from her, allowing himself to be led towards the bar. Before Mandy turned back towards Billy, Rhoslyn looked back at them.

"Adieu." She said, and wiggled her fingers. Mandy tightened her fist.

"Come on Billy. We're going to do some investigations of our own." Billy, who was eating sand, got up and followed her as she headed towards the hotel.

XXX

Sorry for the delay. I've been busy with stuff and have had some terrible writers block. I hope this chapter is all right. I'll try to update soon…especially since now I at least know what's going to happen in the next chapter.

Nako Chan: Thank you for your fabulous review. Her name means Lovely Rose, Love, Love. I wasn't sure if anyone would catch that or not. I'm really glad you like the story so far, especially since yours is so wonderful and your such a fabulous writer.

Hell's Agent: ) Thank you, glad you like it so far.

FurubaFmaNarutoHngFan: Sorry this chapter took so long. I'll try to be much quicker about future installments.

You're all wonderful! Thank you for the reviews.