Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Hotel/Motel (09/12/05)
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TITLE: Heaven's Landing | Previous Challenge Entry
By Alana Wellington
09/19/05 -
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“Ow.”
“You okay, Ang?”
“I think so. You don’t sound so good.”
“You’re lying on my chest.”
“Sorry.” She shifted to the concrete.
He took a minute to sit up. “I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”
“Does anything feel out of place?”
“I don’t think I broke anything.”
“Good. Where’s the flashlight?”
“What is this place?”
He sensed her look up.
“Probably some kind of secret cellar filled with adventure.”
“You should stop knocking the place. Your mom might be right about it.”
“Do you want to get into hospitality management?”
“No—”
“Cause I’d be happy to sign over the deed. Do you think the flashlight fell with us?”
Her palms began to search the floor around them. She sat back on her heels when she found nothing.
Wind moaned and whined around the old hotel. They could hear the swish of the trees that bordered the drive.
“There has to be a way out of here,” Donnie said.
He moved to the wall, then felt his way around the room.
“No doors.”
“Maybe there’s a trap door above us.”
“Much good that would do without some kind of ladder or rope.”
“I’m trying to help.”
“I’m trying to think.”
Angie huffed.
“Stop glaring at me,” he said.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You’re the one who wanted to come here.”
“Did I force you to come along?”
“Like I would let you come alone.”
“Oh. So now I needed your permission.”
“This isn’t getting us anywhere.”
“You’ve been hounding me for weeks to—”
“Come on, Ang. You should have come earlier to respect your granduncle’s wishes.”
“Since when do you know anything about Uncle Ian?”
“Ang...”
“You only came to the funeral.”
“You never really mentioned him before.”
A sob dented the musty air. He took cautious steps in her direction.
“Don’t.”
He slumped to the floor beside her, careful not to touch her. Angie’s quiet sobs tugged him, but he restrained himself. His eyes traced her faint outline. After five minutes, she sighed.
“How are we going to get out of here?”
“He’s not in pain anymore.”
“I know...”
“He doesn’t have to deal with this world—”
“Could we not talk about this?”
He nodded as he took a deep breath. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dark, he searched the space for anything resembling a way out. Angie’s enlarged pupils rested on him.
“I’m a fireman, not Spiderman.”
She looked away. He picture the face she formed whenever she dispatched a difficult call: brows creased, mouth tilted up to the left. The image dissipated when something yanked his eye from the hole above them.
“Did you see that?”
“See wh—”
“There it is again!”
A white beam bobbed at the break. Then a man’s deep voice came down to them:
“Are you guys alright?”
Angie stood. “Boy, are we glad to see you. Be careful up there.”
Donnie rose as well. “You wouldn’t happen to have a ladder?”
“Actually, I do,” the man said. He proceeded to lower a ladder of appropriate length.
Donnie grinned.
“Go ahead, Ang.”
When she cleared the top, he started to climb. A yellowish light illuminated the ladder.
“He’s gone!”
“What?” he said as he reached the wood floor.
“The man. He’s not here.” The flashlight beam jumped when she gestured to the open front door.
They walked out to the veranda. In the moonlight, they could see that only their tire tracks disrupted the dirt drive. The breeze swirled around them.
“I thought you said no one lived close by,” he said.
“Did you see any houses over the last couple miles?”
The trees swelled and bowed. They stared at each other.
“So that’s how it got its name...” Donnie rubbed his prickled arms.
Angie closed the door and paused with the key in the lock. After half a minute, she said, “Let’s come back tomorrow, when it’s light out. I need to see what exactly needs to be done to the property.”
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