2. Chapter 2
If there was one thing worse than driving seven-hundred miles across winding country roads, it was doing so with a malfunctioning radio for company. Zoe groaned as the car filled with a lively chorus of a mariachi brand, followed by the warbling tones of a soprano that serenaded her as she took another winding corner. She fiddled with the dials to no avail, until the shrill blasts of her phone interrupted the caterwauling singer. Her stomach churned as she glanced at the caller ID. It was her boss, as usual.
“Mr. Gravesend?”
“Zoe! Would you care to explain why I haven’t been able to get hold of you for the last hour?” Zoe gulped as she glanced at the volume of missed calls on her screen. “And why does it sound as though you have a wailing cat beside you?”
“Sorry, Mr. Gravesend. Something’s interfering with my signal around here…” Zoe twiddled the dials of her dashboard once more, until the opera singer’s warbling was replaced with a chorus of over-excited castanets. “So, err, is there a reason you need me at eleven thirty at night?”
“Of course there’s a reason!” Mr. Gravesend spluttered with indignation. “Think of everything Chthonic Power Solutions has provided for you. Enough business trips to make you feel as though you’re living in every time zone. Your very own office cubicle. The chance to work your way up the corporate career ladder. And all we ask in return is for you to be accessible morning, noon and night, seven days a week, three-hundred and sixty-five days a year. Is that really too much to ask?”
Zoe sighed. “I suppose not, Mr. Gravesend.”
“So you’ll be at Spring Valley by tomorrow? I sincerely hope I don’t need to remind you of the importance of this deal…”
“I should make it if I drive all night.” Zoe glanced at the map on her dashboard, the road names reduced to squiggles in the darkness. “At least, I think I’m headed in the right direction. These roads all look the same to me…”
“I don’t care if you have to grow wings and fly there. The city needs power, and Spring Valley has more energy deposits than a Duracell bunny after eight espressos. All you need to do is convince the current land owners to sell up, so that we can move in.”
Zoe’s stomach churned uneasily at the prospect. Not everyone welcomed the arrival of Chthonic Power Solutions, and with good reason, too. The corporation moved like a vampire, sucking the life from the land, until only a deadened husk remained.
“And you’re sure the residents won’t put up a fight?”
“Oh, I’ve learned that if you sign a cheque with the right number of figures, people will part with anything. Their homes, their land, their dreams. Why, even their very soul.” As Mr. Gravesend’s cold laughter filled the line, Zoe couldn’t help but feel the skin on the back of her neck prickle. “Isn’t that right, Zoe?”
Zoe’s heart sank at the truth. Once, she’d had dreams of traveling the world. Of capturing the beauty of distant lands with her camera, and sharing their magic with the world. But, like most people in the city, she’d learned that dreams didn’t pay the rent. And so, just like so many others, she’d taken a job at Chthonic Power Solutions. A job that had sucked out her soul, and left her gray and lifeless, like the lands they mined.
“I guess…”
“That’s the spirit!” The radio switched stations once more, until Mr. Gravesend’s cold voice was accompanied by the lively strumming of a ukulele. “Besides, I’ll be appointing my successor soon enough. Think about it Zoe, if you play your cards right, you could be the next President of our company. But right now, I’m afraid you and Swindleton are head-to-head.”
“Swindleton?“ Zoe grimaced at the mere suggestion. “That weasel would sell his own mother for a promotion.”
“Which is exactly the kind of entrepreneurial attitude we need at Chthonic Power Solutions!” Zoe sighed as Mr. Gravesend’s cold laughter reverberated through the car. “Spring Valley is a golden opportunity for you to prove yourself to the company, Zoe. Get it right, and you’ll have everything you’ve ever wanted. A promotion to the top of the corporate ladder. A salary that could make all your dreams come true. A corner office with its own window. But if you fail, you’ll be stuck in that cubicle of yours until the end of your days. I trust you’ll make the right decision.”
Zoe gulped as the line went dead. Despite her reluctance, she knew Mr. Gravesend was right. She hadn’t spent years working at the corporation just to be stuck in a windowless cubicle all of her life. She needed a purpose, a meaning in her life. And right now, this was her best option.
“Well, I guess it’s going to be a long night of driving. But if I keep up this pace, I should be at Spring Valley by sunrise… wait a minute…” Zoe’s words trailed off as she studied the map on her dashboard, to be greeted by a maze of upside-down road names. With dawning horror, she righted the map, before she swore in frustration. “Are you kidding me? An entire day of driving and I’ve been going in the wrong direction?”
At once, the radio burst to life once more, until the lively music of a mariachi band blasted through the car at deafening volume. Zoe yelped in surprise as a cheery chattering of castanets serenaded her, until she twiddled with the radio dials once more. But despite her best efforts, the tempo of the upbeat trumpeting only increased.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake! Will you cut that out?”
Zoe adjusted the radio to no avail, only to draw a startled breath as she returned her attention to the road. Ahead of her, the path disappeared into a wall of brambles and thorns, beyond which a veil of darkness loomed. She slammed on her brakes, but cursed as she knew it was too late. She yelped as she sped into the undergrowth, until her car lurched and jolted, as if she rapidly descended into somewhere far, far below. The music of the mariachi band reached a manic tempo, until a symphony of trumpets honked like a flock of excitable geese with every lurch of the car. Onwards she descended, whipping through dense brambles like a rocket, until the vehicle lurched to an abrupt stop. Zoe yelped as she was thrown backwards in her seat, before she drew a shaky breath. Despite her racing heart, she was alive.
“Could this day get any worse?” She turned the key in the ignition, to be greeted by a splutter from her car engine. “Oh, no…”
Zoe groaned as the engine emitted a low whine, until silence filled the car. She tried her phone, only to be greeted with static and the faint melody of the mariachi band once again.
“Well, something around here is definitely meddling with my signal.” She consulted the map before she stepped out of the car and into the nighttime air. “But it looks as though there’s nothing around here for miles…”
Zoe’s feet crunched on the snow-covered ground, until she looked at her surroundings in surprise. She’d arrived in a barren desert filled with deep shadowy canyons and rocky outcrops that offered panoramic views of the landscape. But what surprised her the most were the snow-covered cactus patches, and the frozen layers of ice that glittered in the starlight. It was as if she’d stumbled into a winter wonderland in the middle of the desert.
“Weird…” Her gaze lingered on a lone star on the horizon, that shone brighter than any other. “That’s no star… that’s a light.“ She drew a breath of relief at the sight. “Which means I might make it to Spring Valley in time, after all.”
Zoe glanced at her car, hoping that it might spring to life and save her the trek across the frozen desert. But one look at the smoke drifting from beneath its hood, and the needles stuck in the tires told her it wouldn’t be going anywhere. With a reluctant sigh, she grabbed her belongings from the car, and set off, following the track.
“Who in their right mind would make their home in the middle of a desert like this?” Zoe shivered as she marched along the snow-covered track, and over a small bridge suspended over a frozen river. “Still, as long as they have a working phone line, that’s good enough for me. Woah…”
Zoe blinked to clear her vision as she neared the flickering light. It flashed before her in shades of neon green and blue, while a scattering of fireflies danced around the pulsing display.
“TheUnderworld Motel. Offering short-stays to lost souls.“ Zoe glanced at the neon sign in surprise. “But who would build a motel out here? It’s hardly a tourist trap…”
She studied the tumble-down building in bewilderment. A pair of wrought-iron gates stood ajar, behind which sat a weathered, wooden-paneled motel. With its wide porch, shuttered windows, and upper-story balcony, it reminded Zoe of a Western saloon. Although from the state of its disrepair, it had certainly seen better days.
“A motel like that must have a working phone.” Zoe approached the front doors, left ajar despite the cool night time air. “Which means it’s my best chance of getting to Spring Valley in time.”
She opened the doors tentatively, greeted by darkness as she entered the motel. The lobby was bathed in an eerie silence, while her breath turned to clouds of fog from the frigid air. She looked at the reception desk, where a guest book lay buried beneath a thick layer of dust, its pages blank and yellowed from time. Beside it, a service bell lay draped under cobwebs, as if it had been untouched for centuries.
“Huh, it looks like no one has been here in years.” Zoe cautiously rang the bell, until its chime echoed through the motel. But as her call went unanswered, her hopes began to fade. “So much for finding help. This place is a ghost town…”
Zoe’s voice trailed off as she sensed movement nearby. The shadows stirred gently, while faint whispers carried on the breeze. She peered into the gloom uncertainly, before she called out once more.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
An eerie stillness greeted her. And yet, within the silence, a gentle murmur drifted from deeper within the motel. An uneasiness spread through Zoe at the thought of venturing deeper into the darkness. And yet, she knew that if she wanted to get to Spring Valley, it was her only choice.
“Is somebody here?” Zoe tiptoed through the empty motel, searching for any sign of life. “What the…”
Zoe drew a breath in surprise. As the merry music from the mariachi band drifted through the air, she wondered if her car radio was playing tricks on her again. But as the music continued, she realized this was no radio recording, but a live band.
“So much for this place being deserted. There must be an entire troupe here.” Zoe followed the music further into the motel, where a dim light shone through the gloom. “Hello? I’m sorry to disturb you, but my car broke down, and I need a mechanic…”
Zoe drew a startled breath as she emerged in a central lobby. Small golden specks of light shimmered in the air, as if dancing to the music. But as the music built into a merry crescendo, Zoe’s eyes widened in surprise. Suspended in mid-air were a series of instruments. A guitar that merrily strummed itself. A trumpet that blasted shrill staccato notes across the room. And a pair of castanets that excitedly chattered with a life of their own.
“What on earth?”
As Zoe entered the space, an audible intake of breath echoed through the chamber. At once, the tiny lights dispersed, the instruments tumbled to the ground, and the chamber was bathed in an eerie silence. Zoe shivered with the feeling that someone, or something, watched her from the darkness. And yet, she couldn’t see a soul.
“Is somebody there?” As a series of hushed whispers rippled through the shadows, Zoe peered into the gloom uneasily. “I don’t mean to bother you. I just need to use your phone…”
Zoe watched curiously as a faint light emerged from the darkness, and shyly peeked from behind the wrought-iron staircase railings.
“It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.” Zoe peered into the gloom as another ripple of whispers passed through the shadows. “You can come out.”
Zoe held out her hand as the light slowly approached. She watched as it playfully danced through the darkness, encircling her as if it were inspecting her. Its light bathed her in a beautiful golden glow, like stardust that sparkled with an otherworldly magic. She reached towards the light curiously, until it neared the tip of her finger…
A deep rumble shook the earth. Zoe gasped as the light fled into the gloom, until the chamber was draped in velvety darkness once more.
“It’s okay, you have nothing to fear…”
But Zoe’s voice trailed off as she peered into the darkness. The shadows stirred like thick storm clouds brewing on the horizon, lengthening across the chamber and consuming all traces of light. Zoe stumbled backwards as the darkness approached, bringing with it an icy chill, until dark mists caressed her with their cold embrace. She shivered from their touch, until her breath turned to clouds of fog and her blood froze in her veins. As her heart quickened in fear, she studied the shadows warily, sensing something lurked deep within them.
“Who’s there?”
Zoe drew a startled breath as the shadows stirred and solidified before her. She watched in horror as a figure emerged, and paced towards her. A man with a lithe, yet muscular, body, his torso draped in a silk shirt made from the shadows. He possessed a striking yet deadly beauty, with cheekbones crafted by a master artisan, and eyes that would captivate the devil himself. Eyes that held Zoe in their gaze.
As the golden specks of light retreated into the darkness, Zoe finally understood the reason for their fear. The man of shadows stepped towards her, his eyes burning with an otherworldly magic. And she had stumbled right into his lair.