The standard TV's static brilliantly illuminated the entire room.
Dirty piles of sheets were tossed gently by the secure door for the cleaning lady to collect when she came in the morning. Extra clean plush pillows and prepared sheets were the only thing making the aged bed look decent in the run-down motel. Dinner was a disappointment and expensive for the size of a small box of food from a buffet a few blocks down. It was fresh for the most part, but to easy to consume and make the hunger worse if there wasn't enough. Small bits of organic rice clung to the white styrofoam, almost blending in as the host sat in the center of her bed eating. She made sure to get the larger pieces of delicious meat and whatever else they had that was available to consume. Xolia knew she wouldn't be obtaining a decent meal like this anytime soon, but maybe going back home she'll have herself a feast of whatever she wanted.
Xolia sat still, for the most part, watching the static dance in waves as she heard a channel going in and out. She never imagined taking her year extended trip and stopping in the middle of the one place she despised. Her hometown was placed in the middle of nowhere with little shops, a few local restaurants, and a grand theater. She was surprised by how to put together the place was since Xolia could recall street crimes and shady drug deals in public. The air even smelt sweet and fresh for once and not polluted with cigarette smoke or decaying roadkill. She still didn't trust the people who occupied here since most of the homes were a squatters paradise and the local motels were every call girl's dream.
Despite having a fresh outlook, you can still see all the unmistakable cracks.
Xolia knew deep down the grand facade was to carefully hide all the everlasting shame and moral guilt every person who stayed here knowingly committed. The floral carpet was fooling anyone and neither was the clean sheets that claimed to be clean. She could tell the patrons brought animals such as cats and pint-sized dogs into their rooms for a way of comfort. The smell of bleach threatened to enter the female's nose and she scrunched up her nose in disgust. Despite her compulsive cleaning tendencies, she didn't enjoy the smell of the transparent liquid and couldn't imagine who would. Xolia had convinced herself the place wasn't as clean as the sigh outside the office door claimed and so she began her work. The bathroom was first, then her small closet space, and last her sleeping quarters which was double wrapped in porcelain sheets. The striking dark-haired women carefully inspected the sheets before strategically placing them on the bed as well as the large duvet she was given.
Once she finished her work, there was nothing to do but watch static for an hour before she realized there were only a few channels. Some charismatic preacher spouting off about the revelations and salvation of the apocalypse or something like that. The second channel had no sound and would play cut scenes of other news channels and go back to static. It was nearing close to midnight, and sleep was undoubtedly the last thing on Xolia's mind even though she knew all her traveling was takings its toll. Xolia was unexcited to go back home because of a certain ritual she would have to do when she was done with her wanderlust. Stella had tried to coax her to come back anyway, due to the recent murder that happened just a few towns over. Xolia knew it was for the best anyway and didn't want to get tangled up in whatever that thing was. She knew the murder wasn't human and eventually, the detectives on the case will soon figure that out. The woman knew it was a bad idea to even consider doing a summoning ritual at a time like this. Everything wasn't how it was supposed to be, but Stella didn't seem to care about all that and did what she was striving for.
The female had seen and had the unfortunate encounter with one of these savage creatures and was lucky enough to fend it off. She could recall in the past how they slaughtered her coven except her and Stella surviving. Xolia didn't grow hatred or even want revenge, instead, she was frightened and was keen on her and Stella's survival. She never wanted anything so terrible to happen like that again, but it would sooner or later. History has a comical way of repeating itself, no matter what outcome you altered it was still the same. She wasn't frightened anymore, she was determined, cunning and willing to give her life up because she didn't care anymore.
Xolia supported her head on the plush pillows, attempting to sleep off her days of riding across the country. She could only hope her dreams would be left alone for the night since her exhaustion was too much. She thought about the sort of day she would have after leaving her home to discover her genuine power. Xolia already knew things were not going to be the same, especially if Stella's visions were correct. Stella told her to go on this journey alone so that she would become stronger and more see what type of person she was. The search itself was difficult, but Xolia was able to discover her power and would dedicate herself to becoming a better successor. She set a few alarms, one for the morning and one for noon just in case she wanted to be lazy.
She dropped her phone next to the vacant space beside her and closed her eyes to be present for tomorrow.
" Were leaving tomorrow Zep, no excuses."
She was certain the thing inside her could hear her, but Zep only ignored her as she drifted off into sleep.