Stories I Never Finished

Ancient Wonder of The Dark

Have I wrote this before??/
******************************

Dearest Calum,

I am writing to you about something I think you'll find quite interesting, if anything, it should aid you well with your new novel. Only God Himself can know how obnoxiously difficult such a gruelling task shall be, considering our people of this world find colour so unattractive. You should know I am not this way by now, if I should be so brash I find colour quite fascinating. The second I caught word of a mysterious disappearance in Ludwick I knew I had to alert you at once! This is not some grifter packing heat. I have paid for a room in the Ludwick motel and attached some money to this letter for your transport. It would bring great pleasure if you accompanied me here.

~ Yours Sincerely
Michael

##############################

Dust kicked up with two thuds of dirty black shoes stepping out from the death trap of a car that had transported me from my home in the city to an outskirts place that seemed to linger with a sense of despondence.

With a sigh, I gave a short wave to my paid driver thanking him for his help. As the tyres drove off along the dirt road, I made my way past the archway of Ludwick's entrance sign; a proud metallic pane painted years ago now rusting as though abandoned much like the buildings beyond it.

Trust Mr. Clifford to find such a decrepit place like this, with buildings made out of sturdy wood I could only guess this place was well past its expiry date.

Adjusting my hold on my briefcase, I spotted the wooden sign of a motel and made my way toward it. The daylight was in my favour for now, blue skies and a faint overshadow of clouds, but I knew it wouldn't last. Daylight comes and goes, a mistress who seeks joy from playing with her toys.
It's always when things go sideways that she disappears on me like a cruel queen.

I sucked in a calming breath, letting it go as I pushed open the door to the motel's reception.
To say it was a surprise to see a bar settled behind the motel's entrance doors would be a shortcoming of my own thoughts.
How far had this town tumbled through a rabbit hole to turn to alcoholism so strongly?

Hazel eyes flickered up to meet my presence as the motel door swung shut behind me.

"Can I help you?" The young man stood behind the bar, one hand holding an uneasily green bottle of alcohol and the other passing a glass of brown liquor to the only person sitting at the counter.

The barman was youthful, a polite glimmer in his eyes to match the tanned skin of his figure draped in grey and dirtied white. His jaw, though dotted with stubble, was sharp and taunt as though he could spit venom at the blink of an eye if necessary.

"I've come to meet a friend." I vaguely replied.

"All the way out here?" He placed the bottle back in its place, eyes studying me as though seeking the truth behind my reply.

"He's a traveler." I said. "Apparently he rented a room?"

"There's plenty of rooms being rented, my friend. You'll have to be more specific." He said with an instigative smile.

His voice was oddly calm, almost unnerving in a way that an empty street at midnight is unsettling in its eerie serenity.

"It's likely he rented it under my name Hood."

"So you're the infamous Calum Hood, I see?" The chestnut-haired male mused his response. "Your friend came through ereyesterday. Spent his time moseying around the Sacred Oak down the way."