Chapter 1 - Abel
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One night, on his way from work, Abel walked his usual route among the streets of a small town in Erie, Pennsylvania. Despite the late hours of the night, the roads were traveled by more than a few cars going and coming from Highway 54. He was used to cars passing by him at high speeds with their bright lights flashing across his face. As he edged closer to his motel, the roads grew quiet. No cars had passed for a time now, so you could hear the crickets chirping in the forest nearby and see the water from the lake across the road shimmering in the moonlight.
He takes a deep breath in, the cool air flowing into his nostrils and entering his lungs. “Sometimes, I wonder what life would be like with more moments like these… pockets in time where I’m not expected to be more than what I am in this moment.” Abel looks up at the sky and smiles as the stars shine the brightest around here. “Normally, the walk would take about 30 minutes, but on a beautiful night like this, I’ll make it back to the motel in 45 min…”
Lights flash from seemingly out of nowhere, blinding Abel. A loud honking and screeching tires cause him to turn and run in the opposite direction. One car door swung open, then another. “What the hell is going on?!” Abel hears a faint whistle that grows and shrieks passed his ears. “Fuck!” He reaches for his left ear and feels something trickling out. Abel pulls his hand away to see a darker stain on his hand as the car’s lights faintly illuminate it.
“Blood…” He turns right and sprints into the forest. “I need to find a way back to the motel and get some hel-”. A shot rings out, and something wraps itself around Abel’s arm, and he’s pulled backward. The wind gets knocked out of his chest, and whatever holds him to the ground digs into the soil. “I-I can’t…” He struggles against his binds; the more effort he expends, the more resistance increases. “Get this off me!” Footsteps are heard close by, a couple of sets of them. “HELP!” Abel screams as he continues to try to break the binds frantically. All of a sudden, power surges through Abel, and the binds snap. He struggles getting up and slips after taking a few steps. He attempts to catch himself and successfully lands on the ground, breaking his index and middle fingers. “Damn it!” Abel looks up from his left hand, and a fist enters view, colliding with his right cheekbone. Abel’s head slams into the ground, and then a foot invites itself to the party and wreaks havoc on his ribs—every breath as painful as the last.
“HELP! HELP!” Abel yells desperately, knowing deep inside that no one will come. The beating continues for what feels like hours and finally stops. Tears swell in Abel’s eyes as pain radiates through his body. Shards of bone stab my insides as I take in more oxygen. He hears both of them breathing heavily, and one winces, “Man, that’s a tough kid! He’s still conscious after all that.” “Alright, Eric. Shut up! Let's get this over with”.
One of the men goes to kick Abel, but at the last second, he pushes the man’s foot away and yanks his arm towards the ground. A muffled thud follows. Abel scrambles, hurling himself at the man before they gets up. He manages to break the guy’s nose and spartan kicks him to the ground before his vision goes black.
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Chapter 2 - Abel
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A dimly lit room appears as Abel lies, slowly blinking until his eyes adjust to the light. He winces while trying to lean forward, placing his forehead on his palm. It’s a wonder how the body responds to trauma, physically in ruin, but mentally, I’m unable to remember past events leading to waking in this room. “What happened?” Abel squeezes his eyes shut, concentrating on what he can piece together.
A light breeze flows past him, causing his body to shiver and his teeth to chatter. “Why’s it so cold in—”. A bright light showers over Abel, blinding him for a split second. As he opens his eyes, three people stand in front of him. On his left, an older male doctor wearing glasses holds a clipboard. He’s taller than the rest, with brunette hair and strangely pudgy for a man of his stature. In the middle is a thin, beautiful woman with brown hair and light red eyes. Her arms are crossed as she displays a stoic expression, but something tells Abel that deep inside, her true nature is as ugly as she is beautiful on the outside.
The Doctor says something to the woman across from him. The blonde nurse walks out of the room, and he makes his way to the edge of my bed as he jots down notes. “What is your name?” I tilt my head in confusion. “M-My Name is A-Abel”. He nods his head. “Do you know why you are here?”. Instead of answering audibly, I shake my head. “Why do you believe you are here?” This time, I refuse to answer even when he asks the question again. In all honesty, my silence is not an act of defiance, but one of fear. If I did not already piss myself, I would piss myself. I see the Doctor’s clipboard lightly shake, beads of sweat appear on his forehead, and after I don’t answer his question for the third time, he peers over his shoulder for a moment.
The thin, beautiful woman with light red eyes walks closer to the edge of the bed. She leans in a little and drags her index finger down the side of my foot, and continues going up my leg as she walks to my side. “You know, we are making history here, you and I.” “Who? What? Where? When? And Why? Lady,” She smiles, teeth as white as those whitening strip commercials. “I see… they never told you.” Abel’s eyebrows furrow. “Who didn’t tell me—” She grabs a hold of my arm; my veins start turning black. Her touch is cold and painful like her glare. Small crystals of ice emerge around her hand, spreading toward my shoulder and my hand. My arm goes numb, and I must comply, “Please, stop! Enough!” The woman smiles, and the ice melts off my skin. She lets go of my arm, winks at me, and whispers something in the doctor’s ear before exiting the room. I close my eyes, hoping this is all a nightmare, but what I could hear was the sound of my pulse growing stronger and stronger.
I struggled to recollect everything I was enduring at that moment, and my senses were becoming dull over time. The Doctor sighs, realizing I won’t be answering any questions anytime soon. At that moment, I hear heels casually making their way to us. Metal rings slide across the silver pole, providing a false sense of security, some semblance of privacy.
The Nurse nods to the Doctor, and he returns the gesture. She pulls a syringe from her pocket, which is filled with a purple fluid, serum. Her approach is filled with grace, one step lighter than the next. I blink, and I see her checking my IV. She brings her hand to my side. A warm touch compared to the coldness of the last.
Her comfort feels like grace, but she deceives me with her kindness. She squeezes my arm until her nails sink into my flesh and rips the plastic cover off the syringe with her teeth. The Nurse twirls the syringe around her fingers, then injects the serum into my neck.
The purple cocktail burns as it enters the bloodstream. “What the hell is that?!” I shout to the Doctor, completely disregarding the Nurse’s existence. The Doctor looks riddled with guilt, but looks away as he jots down more notes. “Answer me!” I furrow my eyebrows while gritting my teeth. A minute later, the Nurse strikes my neck again, but this time I don’t get a chance to see what she has injected me with. Maybe the same serum? Whatever it was begins to make my chest heave, and my heart slowly begins to beat harder and faster.
“AHHHHH!!!” My scream makes the Doctor jump a little, backing away from me as I see a light emerge in the reflection of his glasses. The worst of the pain suddenly springs forth as this burning sensation runs through trails, streams of blood held within veins and arteries. I look down, and bright, golden lines start glowing and tracing the location of my veins. The Nurse quickly lets me go, tearing flesh as she pulls away from me. She slowly backs away as I notice fear written all over her face.
I lunge at the Doctor, and this is when I realize I am tethered to the bed. Leather straps bound me as they would some sick, untameable patient in an insane asylum. “Hey! Doctor, look at me!” Spit flies out of my mouth, droplets of saliva find their mark on his glasses. For a split second, I see the Doctor snarl, a subtle expression of fury in an otherwise timid and bashful man.
He takes his glasses off and makes eye contact with the Nurse before nodding towards a sink, some cabinets overhead, and a set of metal drawers on each side, placed in the corner of the room. Fear swells inside of me, rising as he continues cleaning his glasses, and the Nurse finds an opening to sedate me. The Doctor clears his throat, pulling my attention away from her as he places his glasses back on. “A little piece of advice…” he says as he goes to pick up the clipboard. “We do not treat any of our patients with a shred of respect, and that is when we are… docile.” His sheepish demeanor sheds; the Doctor stands up straighter, maintains eye contact, and the nervousness that once rattled him evaporates. “Of course, our orders are clear,” He stops speaking and flips back to page one. “Doctor Syd, you are hereby permitted by the PURA council to proceed with Project Half-Blood on subject zero.”
A wicked grin forms on his grim face. “As discussed at length, the subject is to remain alive until every test has been taken and blood samples drawn for further, posthumous experimentation.” A silence forms and expands, stretching across the room. “Do you know what postmortem means?” “I—” The Doctor cuts me off, “It means, we can and will do anything and everything to you in the name of “Science” before termination.” “W-Why are you doing this to me?” “Because PURA demands it.” I shake my head in astonishment. “Why does PURA demand it from me?” The Doctor sighs, displaying agitation for a simple and warranted question. “Something that only the Five of you have,” I close my eyes in frustration, “What? The Five of Us?” The Doctor nods in response, and that is when I see it.
The Nurse Leaps onto my pelvis as I lie, holding a rod of some sort over her head. The tip of the rod is an orangish red, and as I smell the faint scent of smoke, she rams the brand downward and into my chest. I cry out in a room where no one cares, where they are paid not to care. The sound of my flesh cooking against the hot iron. The force she applies to the rod is driven deeper, and I fear my ribs are about to snap. “Hold. Still. Half Blood.” Her strength doubles for a moment, and I hear a crack. My vision becomes blurred, and the room begins to spin as pain devours me entirely. “I thought the medical profession created healers, not vicious sadists. The Doctor and The Nurse stare at each other, then burst out in laughter. As my mind swims in and out of consciousness, I become certain of one thing: “Whether an Oath-taker or Oath-breaker, when you are one of them, I cannot tell the difference.”
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***
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Several Days have passed, I’m not sure if it has or if it just feels like it has. Dr. Syd and the nurse, whose name is Penny, left the room for the night. At this point, they might as well share their darkest secrets with me because once these experiments are over, I’ll be lying in a pit of expired subjects. The only thing that makes me “special” is that I’ll be the first of five to be slaughtered. There is no end to the terror and anger that I feel, but it doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve thought of escaping thousands of times. I mean, I miss my parents and Arther. Does giving up and letting go make me less human, or does it make me human?
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Chapter 3 - Abel
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Today was more brutal than yesterday. When I opened my eyes, all I saw was what they wanted me to see. Everything I smell is what they want me to smell. Everything about this room, this place, was premeditatedly developed to shred my physical body, mind, and spirit, and I’m starting to break.
After today’s session, my skin is left raw from testing. Dr. Syd and Nurse Penny stuck my hand in a futuristic circular, white device, which they turned on as they left the room. I felt nothing at first, and then a subtle warmth enveloped my hand. The temperature rises slowly, but I know he doesn’t plan to stop, so I close my eyes, for these are the nuggets of peace I get. “Are you comfortable, Abel?” I don’t even look at him as I know he’s smiling safely behind that thick glass and smug demeanor; he asks again, laughing as my mouth stays firmly shut. Neither of them gives a shit. Dr. Syd asks to mock me, to make this nightmare even crueler, digging another knife deeper into my psyche.
I take a deep breath, and he cranks up the temperature, giving me 1st to 2nd-degree burns. Dr. Syd and Nurse Penny enter the room and conduct several tests on my injured area. Nurse Penny does all the physical work, like peeling the burnt skin and placing the pieces on microscope slides, while Dr. Syd stands there behind that clipboard, writing whatever the fuck.
Next, she pours various liquids onto my skin and then onto my burns. Each liquid was tested, but none of them reacted to either. I look at Nurse Penny and notice the disappointment on her face every time they didn’t get specific results. I hear a pencil scratching against paper after every test. Once she takes off her gloves and walks over to the sink, I know this session is over.
“Abel, do you feel any different today than you did yesterday?” I shake my head as a response. Dr. Syd nods his head. “The next session will begin shortly”. I feel something tear in my heart again as both of them leave the room. Tears roll down my face for the hundredth time, but when I try to scream, nothing comes out. My cries for help are trapped within.
Before leaving, the previous device was placed over my foot, but this time, there is no countdown. He turns on the device, and a harsh coldness envelopes my foot. The toes change color from red to purple, then gray. They are the first to experience frostbite, and the rest of my foot follows as the pain flares. When I look down, what remains is a black foot with frost forming around the toes. I lose track of time as I stare at the mutilated foot. I know it's mine, but my mind keeps me from claiming the limb as my own, as if my mind is slower to accept what the body already knows.
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The door opens, and Nurse Penny walks in alone to run her tests. You’d think I’d get used to it, seeing the Nurse/Dr. Syd enter the room after each experiment. I hold my breath and pray to a God I chose to keep distant as the doorknob turns. My battered heart sinks into my chest again, chiseling my hope into pieces as I see Nurse Penny enter and close the door behind her. It won’t be long until the pieces are ground into dust and blown away as if I never existed as if my torture and pain was insignificant. My purpose here was lost on me, but now I see. There is no end to their studies and experiments, either I die or continue being dissected.
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***
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Dr. Syd sits behind the glass, watching Nurse Penny carry out the final tests they had scheduled for the day. He goes through his notes from the day before and continues to flip back page after page. As he goes over the notes from the past 32 days, a shiver runs through his body as a bit of excitement and fear flood him. “After carefully reviewing the data, we have to consider that Abel is one of the three descendants.”
As he watches Abel, he catches the faint image of his reflection in the two-way mirror. His face is of olive skin that looks weathered from time. He has red eyes that faintly glow in the dark like they do now. A frightening smile slowly creeps onto his face as fangs appear. “Harvest his organs, drain him of all his Blood, and burn the body.”
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Chapter 4 - Abel
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I wake up in the gurney and pull on the leather straps that bound me, praying that one day they’ll loosen enough to aid my escape. As intelligent as they are wicked, Nurse Penny always checks my restraints before leaving for the night. I still force myself to look and find a way out of this purgatory. As time passes, I begin to accept my fate, hoping something will change seems pointless now, but I can’t lose hope. Arther never lost hope. Despite the tragedy that became his life, he pushed and persisted against all odds. The man lost his whole family and decided to give my parents, his oldest friends, one last gift before he passed. He took me in and treated me as one of his own.
Arther worked his ass off and traveled from state to state, making sure we’d never go without food. Wherever the work was, that is where we went. In some ways, I feel he had to keep moving to survive, not just monetarily, but mentally and emotionally. The week after my parents died, we packed up my most precious belongings and he put the house up for sale. From that point forward, we became nomads. He may have had his moments of weakness, and there were nights when he drank himself to sleep, but Arther wasn’t a mean drunk, but he was a distant drunk.
I close my eyes, remembering when I’d open the bedroom door and chuckle at the sound of him snoring. I walk into the living room and find Arthur asleep with the television on. I’d make it a habit to lay a blanket over him and make a sandwich to lay on the table beside him. Two pieces of Havarti cheese, one slice of ham, one slice of Turkey, two pieces of potato bread, and a nice dollop of mayonnaise. I smile, tearing up and wanting to break down, but then I hear the doorknob turn and the door opens. I see Dr. Syd, and my heart feels the weight of what the future holds for me today. I shake my head and clench my teeth, I give him a look of defiance, and begin to believe.
Unphased by my small rebellious act, he flashes that sinister smile of his and begins to flip through the pages of his clipboard. That fucking clipboard where all the observations of all my suffering lie. I wonder what the hell they are looking for, which is when I realize they haven’t found it. I take a deep breath in. I have more time. “Hello, Abel!” Dr.Syd says with an unusual amount of enthusiasm. He lays the clipboard face down on the metallic tray. “I have a reeaaally good feeling about today.” The Doctor checks my vitals and then starts unwrapping the damaged skin. Before he addresses the wound, he looks down at it and smiles. “How are you feeling today? Any more pain than yesterday?” I stay silent, refusing to give him answers to questions he’s far too intelligent not to know. “I’ll take that as a no.” He laughs and leaves the wrappings undone, but hidden enough so I can’t see the horror of what's been done to me.
The room is void of any audible sound except for the footsteps of Dr. Syd as he turns to leave the room. “Alright then, Abel.” He reaches for the doorknob, but stops before turning around to face me. “I hope you have all your affairs in order. It was a… pleasure dissecting you.” He smiles, then turns and exits. My chest tightens, and I go to reach for my chest, wincing in pain, already forgetting the chains that bind me. I feel the world closing in on me. I tense my muscles and put all the strength I have into tearing off the restraints.
Even though I make no progress, I feel the burning of the leather against my skin. Blood trickles down and begins to coat the blue sheets on the gurney. The pain is excruciating; I feel the peeling of my skin and a little give between my wrists and the restraints. Hope. The pain becomes a blur as the gurney turns from blue to purple. I pull even harder, the leather strap goes from my wrist to my palm, then past the knuckles. I see and begin to feel the consequences of my actions as the adrenaline fades and the raw flesh hidden beneath my restraints is revealed to me. I breathe a sigh of relief. 981Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7n38FV21p
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Chapter 5 - Abel
A few hours ago, Tre found and rescued me from the laboratory. He was suspiciously quiet since he did not mention how he knew my location and how he could get me out of there and somehow not be detected by either the doctor or the emotionless, possibly mute lady with the clipboard. I have many questions, but Tre wouldn't even look at me; he stared blankly at the ground. The kid seemed like his whole world had fallen apart, and from this moment forward, nothing could change the speed or trajectory of what would come to pass. The silence is too loud, and the longer I sit on the curb next to a sidewalk filled with trash, the more time I have to keep asking questions while receiving zero answers.
I wasn't in the best condition, but I stumbled my way onto the road and managed to stay on my feet while trying to find the North Star to lead me to some town or a restaurant at least; my stomach is growling, and the hunger pains would not subside until I got a something with calories in me. A cheeseburger with fries or a cheese pizza with ranch dressing as the dipping sauce, and I'm now regretting the last handful of minutes daydreaming about demolishing the first cheeseburger I get my hands on. A few more steps, I have to keep telling myself, a few more steps, one foot at a time. All I can do is close my eyes and continue moving forward despite the pain, lack of company, and a simple conversation; any conversation would be Magnifique.
At this point, I have been walking for an hour and probably went a few miles north, actually south… I now realize I don't know where I am going. I need to slow down, backtrack, and find Tre. He's probably still sitting down, counting how many cracks there are in between the asphalt. I have to head back, reluctant, but he saved my life, so I do a 180 and begin dragging my feet, eventually making my way back to Tre. As soon as I was an earshot away, I immediately heard footsteps approaching me, so I stop for a moment to really get a good listen… "Tre!" There was no dialogue, no response, but the footsteps continue moving towards my end of the road. "Tre! Is that you? I really need you to respond now…"
Suddenly, the footsteps slowed down until I could barely hear them moving in any direction. Don't get me wrong, every cell in my body screams for me to run, but this is Tre. Despite my lack of answers and the secrecy behind the absolute mindfuck of a situation, I take one step forward, then another. As I walk up the road, the fear and uncertainty wash away; before I know it, I see Tre. He's still sitting in the same spot, on the sidewalk's curb, with one light hanging over him. "Tre? What's going on? You haven't said a word and continue sitting here silently." Tre didn't move a muscle.
"Look, man, I gotta be honest with you. I'm scared… I was taken, placed in a lab, and heard noises I would rather forget; then you showed up. You saved my life, and I am eternally grateful, but I need you to say something. I need you to help keep me from freaking out before I have a complete meltdown." Tre took a few moments and finally stood up and walked my way. He placed his hands on my shoulders and then took a deep breath. "I couldn't—I mean, I didn't want you to see me like this, and besides, I wanted to give you some time before both of our worlds completely change." I close my eyes and take a breath in slowly, then exhale. "What's going on, Tre? I may not be ready—actually, I know I'm not ready—whatever may come next, we are in it together."
Tre took time to muster his remaining strength and patience about the situation, then spoke without pause.
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"Abel… I'm far from Human. My people, or what mortals would call "kind" are known as The Lycan, but technically, I'm a halfblood. My mother was human/mortal, but my father was a mix between Lycan and Aldric. Neither Lycans nor Aldrics will accept me into their clan… the mortal world is relatively the same but much more accommodating than my realm. I'm the only one of my kind, so I thought. There are legends told to this day by the ancients about such a creature. A creature who would bring about the end of days for all realms, including this one. I—I have lived a life of shame, and after my mother passed, I had no one to protect me anymore, just like you. I had no idea why we ever became friends, maybe because of the devasting losses we've experienced, but it's more apparent than ever before… Our fates have intertwined, and the Gods have led us to each other. We—"I had to interrupt him so my mind could process all of the information Tre sent me. "W-Wait, so you are telling me and let me know if I'm off here… Werewolves and Vampires are real. You are a third Lycan, a third Aldric, and Human or mortal, as your "kind" calls us. Am I hitting all the right notes here?" Tre nodded his head in agreement. "Okay, wow…" My only response was to begin pacing back and forth, stroking my stubble or lack of one, hoping this would help trigger something to make this all make sense.
I can't believe what I'm hearing right now; there are no words. I want to think Tre's a liar who made up this story to protect himself from whatever happened back at that creepy place, back at that lab where I thought my days were over. The worst part is that Tre wasn't a liar. In the past couple of years, we grew to know each other well. Other than his questionable taste for foods like fries dipped in mayo mixed with Frank's Red Hot Sauce or the occasional order of fried pickles—absolutely gross—our bond was always strong. I'd like to believe stronger than most as if we were brothers in a past life or some form of history together, maybe even ancient history.
"Abel, what questions do you have for me? We are safe now, so I can answer whatever you throw at me. This entire week has been insane, one I'd like to forget. It's like walking into a mental institution and admitting yourself to a lovely stay in a white bedroom with four aesthetically pleasing white walls to stare at for the next 72 hours." I chuckled at his analogy. "You paint an image that actually sounds more normal and quite appealing compared to our conversation," Tre smirked, but it faded just as quickly as it came.
"Okay, I mean… why am I here? What do I have to do with any of this? Lastly, why was I so important to kidnap?" Tre lowered his head, taking much longer to answer than I'd like. "I never thought the day would ever come, much less did I think there was someone out there like me… possibly more valuable than someone like me…" Tre shook his head as if to shake off the overwhelming distaste for whatever thoughts continued to fester. "I-I have no idea what you are saying… I-I'm no one special; I never was and never will be. My whole life has been a series of tragedies, a series of several unfortunate events. You can't t—". Tre cut me off; his hands shaking, he clenched his hand, and it turned into a fist; he was beginning to lose his patience.
"Abel, people like us… beasts like us will always have a tragic tale; we will only live with uncertainty and fear for the rest of our lives. However long that may be, there is no time for us to be any less than what we are now. Trust me, I have been there! Questioning every moment of my existence and what kind of Gods what kind of twisted minds could bring such a brutal fate to anyone… let alone someone with no one to lean on or receive any answers for the millions of questions I've asked over the years. It is not fair, but life has never been fair. Now that we are together, all we can do is survive and stick to what we know is true, not what we'd like to be true. I—I'm so sorry this is happening to you. T-There is only one question we can ask ourselves: Do I want to live or die? And this is a question only you can answer; no external force can change or make this decision for you." We stand in silence for a few minutes, then I look up at Tre and pitch him pretty hard, then pinch myself for further confirmation; this is not a horrible nightmare but my reality.
On cue, this is where my mind wants to check out permanently. What can I say? Zero answers can quench this thirst for knowledge I cannot attain tonight. At the moment, I want to lay in a bed, get under the covers, and then curl up into a ball, praying this all goes away in the morning. "I hear you, Tre… there is nothing more to be said, and I'm exhausted. We need to find a nice place to sleep for the night. I don't care where we have to go. I will walk for however long it will take to get to a hotel or motel. We both need the rest." Tre nods his head and changes the conversation. "Alright, on my way here, I don't remember passing any motels, but I saw an RV Campground, which usually has some cabins available for a few nights to a week. Maybe we can get lucky and convince the manager or the owner to let us stay for the night. A campground is much more discreet than a motel or hotel. Most of the time, families or retirees head over during the summer. Sound like a plan?" I nod, and we begin going towards the Campground on the neverending, frightening, pitch-black road to end this brutal night.
We arrive at Dale & Tina's RV Campground. The slogan underneath says We Treat Our Guests As Familly with lifesize cutouts of who I can safely assume are good ole Dale & Tina. In the daylight, I'm sure this was cute for families and other guests driving through the entrance, but at this hour, I swear, those cutouts had the Mona Liza effect. The eyes of Dale & Tina seem to follow us as we head towards the front Office. I keep having this nagging thought Tre and I are being watched. I am so uncomfortable; I already want to turn around and take our chances sleeping in the woods; no amount of comfort is worth waking up in the middle of the night with Dale & Tina's cutout staring at me with that smile through one of the windows in the cabin.
As I keep looking over my shoulder, Tre and I reach the Office and start walking up the old and creaky steps, which is the cherry on top, or as they say in French, piece de resistance. Tre opens the door, and we both enter. The smell of the damp carpet, stinky feet, and low lighting make it hard to see the appeal of this place. At the front desk, we see no one, not a single person. The building seems abandoned; the dead mice in the corner might be the last sign of life this Office has seen since Y2K. We cautiously approach the counter, ensuring the eyes in the back of our heads stay alert and ready to flee at any moment. I ask Tre if he can watch my back as I take a quick tour through the Employee's Only Office.
"I am going in the back to hopefully find someone or a set of keys to a cabin. Are you good here?" Tre is looking as nervous as I feel on the inside right now. "Yeaahh, let's get this over with… nothing about this place feels right. I can't put my finger on it, but Dale & Tina's lifesize cutout… enough said." Tre and I would not have entertained staying here in another situation, but we have no choice. I leap over the counter, hoping it doesn't come crashing down, getting a face full of deteriorating carpet carcass and whatever that stain had been in its previous life. I make it to the door down the hallway and turn the knob, thankfully, it is unlocked, but as I push the door, I meet an unmovable object. "Tre, I need you for a moment; something is blocking the doorway, and I can't move it on my own; it's not budging anymore than it was a couple of minutes ago." He leaps over the counter and approaches me; we both place our right shoulders on the door and then push. I look at Tre, and we both have the same expression of fear, but he must have read my mind because he takes the lead.
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