Sinister Sands Hotel

Chapter 3 (Draft)

The sign on the store's door announces that the S OP Is OP N.

I scratch my head and try to peek inside. It's quiet and creepy, I'm not sure that I want to enter this building that seems ready to fall apart at any moment.

I turn away from the door, intent on making my way back to my car and calling Weird Granny Lady, when suddenly the door creaks open behind me, and the bell connected to the door rings softly.

A very un-Kevin-like yelp escapes my mouth, and I do an 'Eeek! Mouse' jump. I can imagine it already. This is where I turned around, and there was a hungry zombie behind me. A very happy, hungry zombie because the zombie has been stuck in an abandoned store in the middle of nowhere for too long and has run out of Cheetos.

I turned around slowly and flinched at... nothing. It's just an open door to the inside of the store.

From what I can see, the inside of the store looks unexpectedly clean and devoid of zombies. I nod to myself and walk to the entrance of the shop.

"Hello?" I croak. Yup, I yelp and croak now.

No one answers, so I walk into a dimly lit but neat area.

Yup, this is in fact a store that has been cleaned and stocked recently and not an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere.

Well, it's in the middle of nowhere, but it's not abandoned as far as I can see.

"Hallo?" I call a bit louder. Still no reply.

To my right, I spot a magazine rack containing titles I've never heard of.

I pick up a magazine with a normal-looking woman on the cover holding a bottle with a noxious-looking green substance inside.

"How to use glamours to hide pimples."

"99 uses for frog spawn in and around your home."

"Voodoo doll making for beginners."

"What in the Harry Potter is this?" I mumble as I thumb through the magazine, trying to make sense of what I'm reading.

"Well, hi there!" a voice behind me exclaims.

So many things happened at once. I shrieked, threw the magazine into the air... I tried to run away but instead fell over my own feet and landed on a human-sized cut-out of some guy smiling and holding a can of Pepsi.

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Are you okay?" the voice asks gently. The magazine falls on my face with a thud.

I don't know why I tried to run, maybe because I was subconsciously still expecting a zombie attack. What I did not expect was the beautiful face of an angel hovering above my face, reaching out a dainty hand to help me up.

"Am I dead? Am I in heaven?" I ask, and the angel laughs a sweet, tinkling laugh that causes my stomach to flutter.

I think I'm in love.

***