Chapter 1 Ana #2
Alex looked miserable, but he reached for his guitar case. His eyes flicked up for the briefest moment, catching Ana’s.
She swallowed and looked away, her cheeks flushing.
It felt as though they were still at school; the entire airspace was dominated by the St. Francis royals.
They had staked their entitled claim to this trip already—to the bus, to the motel…
to Alex, pushing everyone else to the edges. Same old, same old.
“I’m, er…just going to see if there’s a landline…or something…” Ana mumbled to no one in particular, heading for the small office. “In case we need to call someone…about the mix-up…or whatever…”
Anything to get out of there.
***
The office looked just as abandoned as the reception area. Dust motes floated lazily in the stale air, catching strips of evening light through the blinds before settling on the rows of file cabinets that lined the walls.
Ana scanned the room, but there wasn’t much to see.
Apart from a boxy, outdated computer on the desk, it was pretty much empty, with a thick layer of dust on every surface.
Ana walked over to the desk. If there was ethernet, at least they could email the school.
She tapped on the old keyboard, then reached around to switch the monitor on, hoping for signs of life, but nothing happened.
Musical notes drifted through from the reception area. Chords. Alex was tuning up, getting ready to amuse Jade. Ana wished she’d shut the door behind her.
Where the hell is Raya? she thought irritably.
There were seven of them on this trip, but Raya Mori was the only one she was remotely close to.
At least, she had been before the fire; they had barely spent any time together this past year—it has just been too messy, too sad.
As soon as they’d arrived, Raya had predictably disappeared.
No doubt she was smoking weed behind some random building with Caden Loftus, St. Francis High’s resident drug dealer.
They were probably making up for lost time and getting their vacation started with a bang.
This trip was awkward enough as it was; if her only friend was going to be missing in action the whole time, it was going to suck.
Sighing, Ana turned to leave when she noticed a small pink rectangle on the corner of the desk. She picked it up; it was an envelope addressed to ST. FRANCIS HIGH.
So, they were expected.
For a moment she was tempted to rip the envelope open, but then thought better of it.
She would let Ellis and the others deal with it.
They were the ones who had a problem with staying—they could sort it out.
All she wanted was to keep her head down and stay under the radar for the next three days.
She would give it to them, then go dig out Raya from whichever hole she was hiding in.
As she walked back into the reception area, she was relieved to see that Jade had lost interest in Alex and was staring sadly at her useless phone. Jax was squatting on the vintage linoleum floor, taking artsy photos. Alex glanced over, guitar balanced lightly on his knee.
“I, er…I found this in the office,” Ana said, holding up the envelope. No one responded. “It’s a letter or something, addressed to us. I guess we’re in the right place after all?” This made the others look up.
“Did you open it?” Jade looked mildly interested for the first time. She rolled herself lazily off the sofa and walked over. “So, what does it say?”
“I didn’t open it. I ju—”
Ana never finished the sentence.
A brilliant flash of white light hit first, almost immediately followed by a deafening boom that rocked the building to its foundation. The windows shuddered, the door smacked open; clouds of dust and plaster fell from the ceiling.
Ana flinched and dropped to the floor beneath the reception desk, instinctively burying her head in her hands.
For several moments she didn’t dare move—her mind was reeling. What had just happened? She listened, holding her breath as dust sank heavily around her, settling on the floor, her clothes. Her heart was beating wildly.
What had just happened?
A cough snapped her out of it.
Alex. She scrambled to her feet, looking around, finding him. He was on the floor by the window, dusting himself off. Their eyes met—there was shock in his expression, and something else. Something familiar. Just like a year ago. It was happening again.
That look was all it took—as though someone had shaken her hard, waking her up. Instantly all senses were firing.
Alex was okay. She could see Jade and Jax moving around, coughing. The reception area was still standing, still intact. The explosion had come from outside, from the parking lot.
She ran around the desk and out through the open door, Alex following close behind.
The desert air pulsed with heat as they turned to face an immense cloud of black smoke towering over their heads.
Underneath, they could just make out a burning shell of twisted metal, flames licking through the frame.
The breath locked in Ana’s throat as she stood, watching the fire crackle, consuming everything. Alex moved next to her. Slowly she turned to look at him, her shock mirrored in his eyes.
They both knew what this meant. Their bus was gone. Their ride home was gone.
Over their heads, the road sign winked at them through the thick smoke—red and yellow lights catching the edges of the dark cloud. On and off. Over and over. Never-ending.
WELCOME TO THE MOTEL LOBA. NO VACANCY. ENJOY YOUR STAY…