Zeke lets out a huge, tired yawn as he sits down on the far end of the employee conference room. He isn’t sure what he’s doing here just yet, but he understands that every other employee at the Hotel filters into the sizable room this morning. Lewis stands outside in the hallway and greets everyone as they enter. Zeke’s eyes lazily check the time on his phone: 8:05 in the morning. He can’t help but yawn again… It’s been awhile since he had to wake up this early. But hey, he considers it must be better than working the overnight shift here.

People definitely take their time coming in this morning, and with good reason, because the weather is borderline inclement today; rain pours diagonally from the charcoal gray storm clouds overhead. This precipitation works in tandem with ground shaking thunder and blinding lightning, although Zeke's not phased by it at all.

His attention falls onto the other pink-shirts he sits with. The woman that sits closest to him has sandy blonde hair that’s accented with a light purple streak within her fluffy bangs. Her piercingly blue eyes look tired, almost as if she’s been here all night. She has the same face tattoo as that baby in the photograph that Lewis had shown him yesterday; this must be Becka. This woman looks intimidating, but in a mysterious way.

To Becka’s side sits another woman that partakes in a morning yogurt as she waits for the meeting to start. Her dark brown hair is pulled up into a messy bun atop her head, while her ears are decked out with a few different types of piercings. She’s short with a strong build, and her complexion is warm and even. Her flashy hazel eyes remind Zeke of his mom.

Today, Kara has her jet-black hair done up into two low pigtails, however her eye makeup is just as thick as it was yesterday. Zeke can now see that she wears gothic platform boots with pink thigh-high socks, and he can’t help but wonder if those are the most comfortable shoes for the job. At her side, Cherry sits and browses her phone as they wait for the meeting to start. Fittingly, her phone case is pink with a cherry pattern; Zeke smiles, because it’s cute, just like her.

The last of the crew to show up is another man. He looks kind of rugged, but in a clean and composed way. His short, dirty-blonde hair is messily swept back. He’s got big brown eyes and a wide, charismatic smile. His skin is sun-tanned, and his arms are covered in darker blonde hair. He wears a pink industrial work shirt as his uniform. As he walks into the room, his heavy hiking boots pound the black linoleum. He’s a standardly handsome man.

Zeke can’t help but notice that the disgruntled general manager Mr. Wright isn’t here yet. Lewis’ smooth voice interrupts the teenager’s train of thought, “alright! Good morning, everyone. Happy Monday. First of all, just a little PSA,” he smiles a dorky smile, “even though the weather is just downright ugly this morning, I still appreciate punctuality. Us morning folk are scheduled in at eight, so please be ready and on the floor by eight. Thank you,” his smile lightens as he situates the contents of his pink clipboard.

Zeke’s eyes meander back to the rest of the staff. They all yawn the same sleepy yawn he does. Kara is even going so far as to be openly browsing her phone as Lewis speaks.

“So, this week is similar to the past few weeks. We’re in the height of wedding season, so let’s try to upsell our honeymoon suite packages. We’ve got plenty of freshly cleaned rooms on the ground floor that are just begging to be sold for the night,” he says, and then pauses as his light green eyes dart up from his clipboard, “Kara?”

She doesn’t even give him the satisfaction of looking up from her screen as she responds, “yeah, yeah. Sell the rooms in the nearly abandoned basement. Got it.”

“Oookay. Great multi-tasking, Kara,” Lewis smiles a rather sheepish smile, “I’d also like us to give a big warm welcome to the newest addition to our team; everyone, this is Zeke,” he pauses for a moment as the team gives out a few lousy heys. Zeke just throws a hand up to greet them all.

Lewis continues, “Zeke here is going to be taking Bryson’s position, so we can finally roll back to the old deployment chart,” he hums, pulling out a piece of paper from his clipboard. He tacks the paper onto the dry-erase board that he stands in front of, and the magnet he uses is one in the shape of a heart. Zeke rolls his eyes gently; everything is so on-brand here. Lewis goes down the deployment chart outloud, “Kara, you’re on the front desk.”

The woman barks back a quick, “like that’s anything new.”

Lewis continues, “Rosa and Cherry, you two are tag teaming housekeeping. And, Rosa… As our floor manager, I am asking that you keep a lookout for any ceiling leaks during today’s rainstorm.”

Rosa, the bun-wearing woman with those hazel eyes, responds once she’s finished her spoonful of yogurt, “kay. But look, if the roof caves in here, Mr. Wright is gonna be paying for my hospital bills.”

This warrants a pretty big grin out of Zeke and a light managerial laugh out of Lewis. Then, the assistant manager smiles, though there is a look of desperation in his eyes. “Lauren… Hopefully you’re chipping away at that ever-growing maintenance request list?”

“Sure thing, boss,” the rugged guy that wears hiking boots responds as he gives a big thumbs up.

Lewis just continues, even though he appears dissatisfied with Lauren’s response, “next up… Becka. We’ll see you tonight as our night manager. Thank you so much for helping the team out by picking up all those extra shifts for the past few weeks.”

The intimidating woman with the face tattoo nods with a sleepy smile, “as long as I’m compensated for my overtime, we’re cool.”

“And lastly, I’ll be doing my rounds and knocking out some much needed, highly overdue paperwork in my office,” Lewis smiles, though it doesn’t show in his eyes, “oh, and real quick, I’ve got one last note for everybody…”

Before he can finish his statement, an alarmingly close, ridiculously loud shot of thunder delivers a deafening sound as it strikes something nearby. Instantaneously, the window that Lauren stands beside illuminates the entire room in a blinding yellow light for a moment. The rolling thunder and burst of lightning fades as quickly as it had arrived… Except now, the tired bulbs above have gone out too.

Amidst everyone giving each other various glances, Lewis states, “okay, ah. Well, it seems that the power has gone out,” he composes himself and his belongings as he continues, “alright then. Well, I’m off to go speak with Mr. Wright about that. You all stay put in the meantime, please.”

Lewis quickly dips out of the room, and the rest of the staff are left unattended. Becka gets her phone out, and Rosa just continues to eat that yogurt cup. Lauren, still at the far side of the room, stares out the window and inspects the storm. Cherry and Kara begin to chat amongst themselves about the power outage. 

Zeke decides to get out of his chair and investigate the deployment chart. He slides the piece of paper down to his eye level and overhears Kara speak to Cherry, “if that godforsaken babyman makes us work today without power, I think I might just hurl myself off one of the second story balconies.”

Zeke decides to interrupt them, “hey? Uh, quick question.”

Cherry peers over at him with a friendly smile, “what’s up?”

“Why am I not on this deployment chart?”

The two women look his way, although Cherry is the first to respond, “well yeah. That’s because you’re taking Bryson’s position.”

“Let me guess,” Kara butts in, “Lewis hired you, but he forgot to mention that you’re the manager’s assistant..?”

“Wait… What?” Zeke looks awfully confused at the two women, “I’m an assistant manager?”

Cherry smiles, “no, no, silly. Lewis is the assistant manager. You’re the manager’s assistant.”

Zeke’s hands fall to his sides, “that makes literally zero sense.”

“Here,” Cherry begins to say as she stands up. She makes her way over to the whiteboard and takes out a purple dry-erase marker, “maybe a diagram will help.”

She begins to draw a chart as Zeke peers over her shoulder, “so at the top here is Mr. Wright. He’s the current general manager and owner of the Hotel & Resort. Right?” She draws a line down below his name, “next up is Lewis - the assistant manager. Below him are Becka and Rosa. Becka is the nighttime floor manager, while Rosa is the housekeeping manager,” she writes their names right next to one another, before drawing another line below them, “and then it’s me, Kara, Lauren… And now Zeke, too!”

Mr. Wright

↓

Lewis

↓

Becka + Rosa

↓

Cherry + Kara + Lauren + Zeke

Zeke eyes the chart, “got it. So… Where does that put me in the Hotel? Like - the managers’ offices, or something?”

“Um…” Cherry hums, thinking it over for a moment, “it puts you anywhere, I guess. You kinda just do odd tasks here and there.”

“Great. So I get to take commands from Mr. Wright all day?”

Now it’s Kara’s turn to butt in, “ew, no. Mr. Wright doesn’t really deal with stuff on the floor. Thank god.”

“Yeah,” Cherry hums, “you’ll be working with Lewis mostly.”

Zeke pushes his curtain bangs out of his face, “oh.”

“Mmhm. Told you this job was gonna be awful,” Kara shrugs “seriously. I’m right, like, ninety-five percent of the time.”

Cherry nods her head real fast, her eyes wide as she turns to Zeke, “oh, yeah. Kara’s intuition is scarily accurate.”

The jet-black haired girl continues, “yup. Just like I know that Lewis is gonna come back up here and tell us that we still have to work without power.”

Almost comically on cue, Lewis steps into the conference room with, “my apologies, everyone.” His eyes fall onto the diagram on the whiteboard as Cherry and Zeke take their seats again. The man decides against saying anything about it, and instead continues his speech, “alright, so! I've got good news, and I've got bad news. What do we wanna hear first?"

Upon absolute silence from his employees, Lewis continues, “right… Well. The bad news is that the power won’t be restored until tomorrow. And the good news…”

“Here we go,” Kara hums gently.

“... Is that we still get to complete our work day,” he says, lightly raising a fist as if that were actually good news. There are a few muddled groans amongst the staff.

Kara just looks across the table towards Zeke, “told you. Ninety-five percent.”

“I know we’re going to be working in the dark, but let’s use some flashlights and just try to make the most of our day,” Lewis smiles.

The employees begin to get out of their chairs and make their way out of the room, although Zeke stays seated. As Cherry and Kara make their way out, Cherry gives Zeke a little wave and a smile, “good luck today! Come find me if you need a little sanity.”

Loud enough for him to hear, Kara tells her friend, “he won’t last the rest of the day.”

“I really hope that’s the other five percent talking,” Cherry says as they dip out of the room. Everyone filters out of the conference room, moving towards their stations given by the deployment chart; everyone, aside from Zeke and Lewis. The brunette lounges in his seat, while the ginger stands at his place in front of the whiteboard.

Zeke raises an eyebrow as he states rather flatly, “so, when were you gonna tell me that I’m your assistant?”

“Ah… Today, I suppose,” Lewis smiles, “personally, I think it’s the best position in the Hotel. No redundant days, that’s for sure!”

“Uh huh. And no weird questions today, right?”

“Of… Course, Mr. Valencia.”

Zeke nods his head, and after a rather awkward pause, he hums out a small, “sooo?”

Lewis smiles with confusion, “sooo… What?”

“Sooo… What are you having me do today?”

“Oh! Oh goodness, right!” Lewis laughs, situating his clipboard, “I’m sorry. I have no idea where my head is at right now. Well, let’s see,” he flips a few pages over, “I was going to do a proper orientation with you today… But I believe handling this weather is a bit more pressing. I’ll tell you what: how about you go down to that supply closet right beside my office and grab as many ice buckets as you can. We’re going to need them to catch all the leaking water today.”

“Alright, you got it, boss,” Zeke says as he slides out of his chair. He meanders his way out of the conference room, leaving the assistant manager alone. Hands in the front pockets of his jeans, he treks down one of the second story hallways. Luckily, he could see the path ahead of him thanks to the Hotel’s sparse emergency lights.  He makes his way out to the rotunda where he looks down towards the conversation pit. The round bulbs hang high overhead, cascading to a comfortable height over the first floor. Of course, the statement light piece isn’t lit.

Once downstairs, he has to think for a moment on which wing of the Hotel the managers’ offices are located. He follows his gut and takes a right down one of the many long, empty hallways of the Hotel. The emergency light that illuminates this hallway is half burnt out, which only adds to the Hotel’s eerie atmosphere. He enters the management hallway and his face contorts in disgust as he overhears some light thumping and pounding coming from Mr. Wright’s office. He shakes it off as he makes his way to the storage closet that’s nestled neatly between the two men’s offices. He now understands why Lewis chose the furthest closet as his work space. 

Upon opening the door, he turns on his phone’s flashlight to illuminate the space around him. It feels smaller than Lewis’ office, but that could just be due to the towering industrial shelving units that cramp the space. Each shelf holds an amalgamation of different items. Just as Lewis had said, this closet appears to mostly hold extra items for the guest rooms. Boxes of mugs, stacks of lampshades, water-damaged Hotel branded notepads, as well as complimentary soaps and shampoos. There’s a small section for extra office supplies: some loose containers of paper clips, extra boxes of staples, a few old sticky-note pads, mailing envelopes, crinkled manilla folders… All in all, this closet feels like a hoarder’s goldmine.

Zeke searches the room with the aid of his phone’s flashlight. His eyes scan the space until… Of course. Up at the highest surface, he notices a stack of his sought after ice buckets. He gives a decent sized sigh before muttering to himself, “you gotta be kidding me.”

He looks around the room for anything he can use as vertical leverage, “you think they’d have a step-ladder around here, or something,” he says out loud to himself. After a few moments, he decides that his search has proven futile. He stands with a hand on his hip as he eyes the out-of-reach ice buckets.

 Cautiously, he decides to put a foot onto the bottom shelf; the whole unit sways and makes this awful creaking sound. Zeke clenches his gapped teeth as he immediately steps back onto the safety of the floor, “goddamn, is everything under this roof ready to collapse?”

Now he just stares angrily up at the forbidden fruit. His thick brows furrow over his deep brown eyes; he is determined to reach these damn ice buckets. Zeke stands on his tiptoes and reaches up as far as he can. He stretches, but to no avail. Next, he tries jumping; he’s close, but still a few inches off. He keeps trying until he feels someone slide up right beside him. Zeke’s head swings around to see Lewis in all his skyscraping glory, reaching for the unobtainable treasure. As he situates the stack in his sturdy hands, the ginger just hums a light, “it’s okay to ask for help around here, you know.”

Zeke, clearly caught off guard, just sputters out, “right. Yeah, of course,” as he takes a few steps backwards.

Lewis gives a small smile before he observes the rather meager ice bucket stack within his hands; there are maybe only five or so within the stack, “goodness, I’m surprised at how few we have left. I knew guests have been stealing them, but not to this extent.”

“Wait…” Zeke’s eyes go wide with bewilderment, “people steal ice buckets? Of all things?”

“Well. Not just the ice buckets.”

“Oh,” the brunette thinks on it for a moment, “okay, yeah. I guess the customers that this place attracts wouldn’t be listening to any sort of morality, huh?”

This warrants a pretty decent laugh out of Lewis. His face quickly turns rather sheepish, the man trying to cover up any sort of outward contempt for the establishment in which he works. He clears his throat, “ahem,” before continuing, “anywho. I hardly think this will be enough… But go ahead and take these anyways,” he hands the stack to Zeke, who takes hold of the plastic buckets. Next, Lewis pulls out a small slip of paper from his clipboard, “I’ve got this running list of leaks that need to be dealt with. If you wouldn’t mind, would you please…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Zeke interrupts the man as he accepts the paper, “follow this list, put the buckets where they need to go. I gotcha.”

“Ah, right. I’ll be searching for more buckets in the meantime. Come find me if you need any assistance,” Lewis smiles a genuine smile as he holds the storage closet door for his assistant. Zeke follows down the management hallway, and he eyes the list as soon as he’s out of eyeshot from his boss.

• Second Floor Ice & Vending

• Laundry Room (above laundry chute)

• First Floor Maintenance

• Employee Break Room (above window)

• North Wing Stairwell (Landing between 1st and 2nd)

• North Wing, Second Floor Hallway (above Window)

…And the list goes on. As he reads over the extensive list, he makes a mental note of where these locations are within the Hotel. First up, he meanders up the rotunda stairs to the second story and follows the worn, golden plaques that direct him towards the ice and vending station. Above the ice maker, a patch of ceiling drip-drops slowly. He places the bucket on top of the ice machine so that it may begin to collect the water.

On his way out, however, Zeke eyes the dated vending machine. Most of the snack items have been sold, with many of the inner coils offering nothing but air. The lack of electricity poses a slight problem. But if not anything else, Zeke loves a good puzzle. 

He gets down on his knees and shoves a small hand through the item retrieval flap. Up and up, his hand explores blindly. He’s so close to the bottom row of coils… He moves his body so that his shoulder can add a few extra inches. As soon as he feels the foil enclosure to some snack, he grins a tooth-gapped smile, “gotcha.”

In one swift movement, he releases himself from the maw of this machine. He holds his prize up in excitement: two strawberry toaster pastries, all wrapped up into one beautiful foil package.

Zeke makes way towards his next destination with a little more emphasis in each step. Once he makes his way all the way down to the ground level, he sets a bucket down to catch the small amount of water that leaks within the laundry room. Next, he sets his stack of buckets down and sits atop a washer to indulge in his sugary snack. As he tears open the foil, he says a gentle, “finally. Something to eat for breakfast.”

He’s able to put those toaster pastries down in only a minute or so, and he enjoys every last bite. After he’s done, he sits for a minute in peace. No need to rush. He lets out a gentle sigh as he closes his eyes. Even though this place is probably brimming with black mold behind the cheaply painted walls, he is grateful to finally have a stable roof over his head after so long.

He recalls one of Lewis’ more abstract questions from yesterday: what are you looking for? Most notably though, he considers his answer to said question: some place comfortable to rest for a bit. Yes, this place isn’t exactly a prime example of comfort, but it is a decent stopping place for the time being. Sure, it’s fairly run down, and kind of shady, and beyond questionable, but its secluded atmosphere is working for him. While he initially took that bizarre question literally, he supposes there could be more to it. Although, the answer doesn't come to him at this moment.

Zeke decides that it’s time to keep on going, so he hops down from the laundry machine and continues on with his task. Next on the list is the maintenance room; he recalls seeing a plaque for it just to the side of the elevators. He makes his way through the Hotel’s long hallways and stops in the rotunda to watch the rain hit the patio. While the storm still rages, the clouds themselves are beginning to ever-so-gently lighten as the sun rises higher behind that charcoal-gray blanket. The heavy rains make a mess of the pool as water springs everywhere across the wooden-slats. The sun loungers have been shifted out of place, the chairs lay toppled over, and the tied umbrellas atop the secured bar tables whip around in the wind.

“Damn,” Zeke mutters. He’s seen rain like this before, but it's still one hell of a storm. Next, he meanders up the stairs and enters the first floor. He eyes the elevators that sit perpendicular to the lobby. This Hotel has two elevators, although the right-most one wears a hand-written sign that reads: This elevator requires servicing.

Right down the hallway, he finds a door with a plaque that reads: Maintenance Access. He lets himself in, but finds himself startled when he makes eye contact with that rugged blonde guy. Currently, he stands at a workbench, and it appears that he’s working on… Well, it really just looks like he’s whittling something. 

 The coworker beams with a wide smile, “well hey there, bud!” 

“Hey, man,” Zeke hums as he eyes the sizable, white pillar candle that sits at the corner of his workbench, “it's Lauren, right?”

“Yessir! The one and only,” the man continues to smile.

“Right,” the new-hire smiles half-heartedly. He puts a hand out to shake on it, “I’m Zeke.”

Lauren places an entirely too firm hand into the teenager’s and shakes with vigor, “well, it is just absolutely great to meet you, Zeke.”

“Likewise,” the brunette grits his teeth. He stretches his hand out as he continues, “so, hey. Lewis said you got a ceiling leak in here?”

“Sure do. I already got it covered though,” Lauren responds, pointing a thumb behind him towards an industrial sized metal drum.

“Wow. Yeah, you sure do,” Zeke eyes the thing, “seems a little big though. Ya know, for such a small leak.”

Lauren chuckles, “well, it was just laying around from last week’s project,” he continues to smile, putting his fists on his hips, “figured I’d put it to good use.”

The brunette finds himself asking, “oh, yeah? What kinda project was Lewis having you do?”

“What? No, no, this wasn’t a Hotel project.”

“Riiight,” Zeke grins a tooth-gapped little grin, “I can’t imagine what else you’d use a fifty-five gallon chemical drum for. I mean, if not for chemicals.”

Lauren laughs a big, hearty laugh, “oh no! I never said there weren’t any chemicals involved!”

This catches Zeke off guard, but he can’t help but laugh too. What’s this guy’s deal? He decides to pry a bit more to figure him out, so he says, “right, right. Um,” he nods over towards Lauren's whittling project, “what’cha working on?”

Lauren peers down towards the chunk of wood in his gloved hand, “oh! I harvested this log from the Resort grounds. It’s been sitting on my work bench for a few weeks, because I really didn't know what I wanted to do with it. Today, I decided: I’m gonna whittle it into something beautiful!”

“Oh, yeah? What’cha carving it into?”

Lauren shrugs with a laugh, “yeah, I don't know yet.”

Zeke raises an eyebrow, but this guy’s smile is contagious, so he huffs in amusement as he says, “then why are you doing it?”

“I guess it's just calling to me, you know?”

Zeke’s confusion only grows as he says, “I… Guess. Uh, and I guess let me know what you end up whittling.”

“You got it,” Lauren gives him a thumbs up, “hey, tell Lewis that I’m going to be working on that leaky faucet in 103. I just can’t focus on anything else until I get this beaut all worked out,” he says, gazing towards that log with nothing but adoration.

Zeke grins, “yeah, man. Sure. I’ll let him know,” he says as he begins to slide out of the maintenance room.

“Catch ya later, Zeke,” Lauren smiles, “thanks for stopping by!”

“See ya,” he responds, giving his coworker a little peace sign before venturing down that hallway. He can’t really wrap his head around Lauren; the guy seems kind of aimless, and he’s definitely slacking on that ever-growing maintenance request list that Lewis mentioned. Also, he’s interested in seeing what Lauren’s going to make, and he’s very curious as to what he was using that chemical drum for.

Zeke shakes the interaction off as he enters the employee break room just next-door to the maintenance room. He examines the generously sized space; a round table sits in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, and a few chairs stagger around it. A row of lockers hug one of the walls, although they hardly look occupied.

On the far end of the room, a line of kitchen counters hug the corner. It’s complete with a dingy microwave, an ancient refrigerator, and a two compartment kitchen sink. Zeke wonders what kind of snacks could possibly hide within all those cabinets… Although, instead of snooping, he just gets right to setting up a bucket in the corner of the room; after all, there is a small puddle forming on the linoleum below.

He heads out of the break room with his ice buckets nestled comfortably within his arm and trudges down the long hallways of the northernmost wing of the Hotel. At the end of the hallway, there is a floor-to-ceiling window which currently projects the storm outside. Just to the right of the window, Zeke finds a metal push-door which is labeled: Stairwell. He feels pretty proud of himself for finding his way around this place today.

He enters the stairwell, and he’s gently surprised as emergency lights dimly flood the space. This old stairwell seems a bit more weathered than the rest of the Hotel: the concrete walls crack around the bolted steel landing, and the black linoleum peels, chips, and wears to expose a gray, concrete underbelly.

Zeke makes his way down the half-flight and notices the drip-drip-dripping from the ceiling. Once he puts a bucket into place, he realizes that he’s only got one left. He ascends the staircase one more time, and he exits out into the second story hallway where he immediately notices the leak above the floor-to-ceiling window. He rids himself of his ice bucket burden and feels relief that he’s finally complete with this menial task.

Alright. Now to go locate Lewis.

He treks down the carpeted hallway, and his hands find their way into his front pockets casually. As he approaches a lone cleaning cart, he notices it sits beside a guest room with its door propped open. He peeks inside, curiosity getting the best of him. Cherry and that bun-wearing woman stand with their backs turned as they work together to fit the king-sized bed with fresh sheets. Zeke can’t help but notice how much smaller these second floor rooms are compared to the sizable honeymoon suites down below at the ground level.

Cherry must have caught a glimpse of him, because she looks over her shoulder and immediately lights up, “Zeke! Hi,” she smiles real big as she makes her way over to the ajar door.  The other woman peers over her shoulder with an inquisitive look, but she decides to finish her task first.

“Hey, Cherry. Man, I’m definitely glad to see you,” Zeke responds with a small smile.

“Oh! Well. Same here,” she smiles sweetly, hands nervously ringing themselves out above her chest. She follows up with, “so, um, how’s your first day going?”

“Yeah, uh. Interesting, I’ll just say that,” Zeke runs a hand through his thick hair, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Cherry responds, her eyes lighting up.

“What’s up with that guy named Lauren?”

“Um… What about him?”

“I dunno,” the teen shrugs, “I can’t figure him out.”

This is where the other woman enters the conversation, “hiya, mijo. You’re Zeke, yeah? I’m Rosa. You like talkin’ gossip?”

Zeke smiles, “I guess so. I was just asking Cherry about Lauren. I can’t really figure him out.”

Rosa’s bright hazel eyes meet Zeke’s dark umber with deep curiosity, “did he say something to you?”

“I mean, I ran into him. He was whittling something, but he didn't even know what he was making. What I really wanna know is why he had a fifty-five gallon chemical drum,” he laughs.

“Mmhm,” Rosa nods, “yeah, Lauren’s a weird one. One of those kooky spiritual types. Honestly? We think he gets special privileges from Mr. Wright.”

“Privileges?” Zeke’s eyes go wide.

“Well, like,” Cherry begins to clarify, “he just kinda comes and goes as he pleases. He uses the Resort grounds for personal projects.”

“Sometimes he disappears for weeks at a time,” Rosa shrugs.

Zeke’s head cocks to the side as he takes all this in, “and Lewis is okay with that?”

Cherry shakes her head, “not really. He’s upset with the special treatment. And the fact that, like, nothing maintenance-wise gets done around here. Sometimes Rosa and I have to pick up the slack.”

“Lewis doesn’t have the power to fire him?” Zeke asks.

“Nope,” Cherry responds, “Mr. Wright always gets the final say around here.”

“That’s stupid,” Zeke says as he crosses his arms, “that old fart seems like an absolute prick.”

“Well, that’s because he is,” Rosa’s voice is sharp, “sits in his office, drinks hard liquor, and bangs his sugar baby all damn day. My spouse - Denver - works at this auto shop in town. Said they found a bag of cocaine in his car. Talk about scandalous.”

“Oh, man. I mean, I guess you gotta wonder how he’s making money, because this venture sure as hell ain’t turning a profit,” Zeke responds, his arms flailing out to their sad surroundings.

The two women just agree in their own ways, however Cherry is the first to continue, “we normally don’t gossip in the hallways like this… Maybe we should get back to our housekeeping? We’re already so behind today.”

“Mmm. Alright,” Rosa hums, “we all know how anal Lewis gets when the day gets behind schedule.”

Cherry gives Zeke a little wave accompanied by a small, “see ya,” before she dips back into the guest room.

However, Rosa stays in the door frame, and her hazel eyes lock in on Zeke. She leans in, dropping her voice down low, “just between you and me... I’d be careful with the folks around here. Seriously. There’s some weird shit that goes on in this Hotel. In this town, too.”

Zeke’s shoulders slump. What does she mean by that?

“Just be smart, love. And watch your back,” she adds a bit louder as she makes her way back into the room.

“O… Kay. Yeah. Thanks, guys. See ya later,” he gives them a half-hearted peace sign as they wave at him from inside the room.

Zeke releases a big sigh as he continues down the hallway. He walks back towards the rotunda with his head down as he’s deep in thought about his current situation. Yes, he’s glad to have a roof over his head, but Rosa’s message seemed a little ominous. As he trudges around the corner, his head bumps right into the body of a fellow pink-shirt.

“Woah,” Zeke peers up, totally spooked by the surprise encounter, and he locks eyes with a very startled looking Lewis. 

He nervously stammers, “oh, goodness, I’m so sorry, Zeke!”

“Scared the piss outta me, dude,” the teenager spits out.

“I’m sorry. Really, I didn’t see you,” Lewis pleads, gripping onto his precious clipboard as if his life depended on it. Even through the dim emergency lights, Zeke makes out that the man’s fair freckled cheeks begin to burn an earnest shade of pink.

“It’s fine,” Zeke kind of tugs at his own pink polo out of nervousness, “I finished what I could. I was just headed to your office.”

“I, ah. Well, I was actually looking for you, so I suppose this works out,” Lewis smiles coyly. He signals for Zeke to begin following him. As the two trek back downstairs, Lewis touches base, “I couldn’t find any more ice buckets for the remainder of those leaks.”

“Yeah. There’s still quite a few left on this list,” Zeke hums gently, deciding to pull the paper out to take a look at what’s left.

“I was afraid of that,” Lewis says gently as he leads Zeke down the rotunda’s curved stairs, “I really hate to do this, but I’m going to have to ask you to fetch us some more buckets from Heartwood Hall.”

“From… Where?” Zeke asks, working his legs to keep pace with his boss’ much longer strides.

“Oh. Heartwood Hall. We’ve been using the structure to hold all of our surplus supplies. Just makes inventory a bit easier,” Lewis’ voice goes soft towards the end, right before he picks back up, “anywho, it was once Heart Hollow Resort’s banquet hall. It held all sorts of ceremonies and events back in the day.”

Zeke’s brows furrow as they continue past the conversation pit, towards the lobby, “so you want me to go outside in this downpour, to a secondary building, for ice buckets?”

“Ah. Well, it’s a great opportunity to get accustomed to the Resort’s layout,” Lewis leads them up the large frosted glass map of the spacious Resort grounds.

“I suppose,” Zeke mutters.

“This is where we’re at,” Lewis points to a peculiar half H shaped building in the northeastern portion of the map. Then, he points to a rectangular building that overlooks the heart-shaped lake that the Resort is built around. Zeke can’t help but wonder if this body of water is man-made. Lewis says, “down here, on Lake Love, is Heartwood Hall.”

“What about all this other stuff?” The new-hire finds himself asking, half-heartedly gesturing to the rest of the map.

“Ah, yes. At one point, we had quite a few amenities; a restaurant, a gymnasium, miles of hiking, and ziplining. Unfortunately, the only operational building left is the Hotel,” Lewis says, a professionally somber tone to his already soft voice.

“Wow,” Zeke says aloud, eyes lingering on the acres of land that lay abandoned, “frankly, I’m just surprised that you’re still hiring people. Feels like the Hotel shoulda’ been condemned ages ago.”

“Mmm,” the ginger hums, his face turning a bit more serious, “while there’s definitely truth to your remarks, Mr. Valencia… I’d like to gracefully remind you that I am still, indeed, your boss. And I take great pride in the work that our team does here,” Lewis quickly puts a small smile back on as he continues, “so let’s just try to make the best with what we’ve got… Okay?”

This strikes a nerve in Zeke, but instead of pushing his pessimism, he settles for a quick, “right. Sure.”

“Lovely,” the manager gives a small thumbs up with his free hand, “glad we’re on the same page now, Zeke.”

The brunette doesn’t respond, and Lewis, clearly feeling the tension, quickly continues, “so, ah. Yes, if you’ll follow me, I’ll escort you down to the parking level,” he says. Zeke follows him back through the rotunda, down yet another guest hallway. Lewis makes hopeless small talk, “usually I’ll take the elevator down, but the emergency stairwell works just fine in this scenario.”

Lewis leads him down the emergency stairwell, and they pass right by the heavy door that leads to the ground level. They descend one more flight of stairs, which empties out into a vast one level parking garage. Dim emergency lights provide coverage to this strangely shaped lot; like the rest of the Hotel, it’s also shaped in a half letter H. In the middle, there is a large concrete cutout, most likely to accommodate for the pool and patio above. There’s only a handful of cars parked down here, and it’s safe to assume that most of these vehicles belong to the employees. To their side, there is a large rectangular archway for vehicles to exit out to the rest of the Resort. The entryway is decently shaded from the rain outside, however a few small puddles form on the concrete below.

As the two men walk past the garage’s exit, Zeke halts for a moment to peer outside. Lightning strikes, and the thick gray clouds illuminate the sky. Rain falls at an angle, while streams of water rush down the mountain side.

“Quite the storm. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen rain like this, huh?” Lewis comments, and Zeke opts to remain silent, because he’s feeling rather fussy that he’s being sent out in this weather.

Lewis leads them over towards the elevator access. Parked just to the side is a cream colored golf cart with dark brown seat covers that peel from age, exposing the yellowed foam below. The vehicle has a small roof over the top with a plexiglass windshield to hopefully provide some sort of shelter. Lewis places his trusty clipboard in the crook of his arm as he fiddles with his crowded keychain, and as he does so, he says, “I’m sending you down in the golf cart. Heartwood Hall really isn’t that far, but I figure it’s far better than walking.”

“Especially since it’s literally storming outside,” Zeke mutters.

Lewis just smiles a courtesy smile as they approach the vehicle, but he doesn’t try to confront his assistant’s attitude again. Instead, he opts to say, “have you ever driven a golf cart before? It’s pretty self explanatory,” as Zeke immediately takes the seat behind the wheel. Lewis hands him the key, although he seems a little hesitant.

“Yeah. I mean,” Zeke starts, adjusting his seating to tap the pedals with his dirty sneakers, “this one stops, this one goes. What else do I need to know?”

“Well. There’s the stick shift too,” he smiles, and Zeke must have looked kind of lost, because Lewis goes into detail, “P is to park, D is to drive, R is to reverse. It's got a standard automatic transmission.”

Zeke turns the key, but the tiny engine doesn’t breathe life.

“Oh. Ah - you,” Lewis clears his throat, “you have to put your foot on the brake as you turn the key. Zeke, do - do you drive?”

“Look, do you want those ice buckets or not?” Zeke quickly dodges the question, and Lewis suddenly looks very anxious as he grips onto that pink clipboard. His lack of a verbal response makes Zeke hum out a small, “mmhm.” With the key in the ignition, and with his foot on the brake, the little engine kicks on.

“Okay, ah… Take a right once you get to the main loop, and then you’ll come across Heartwood Hall. It’ll be on your left,” Lewis clearly forces his demeanor to brighten a bit, “you can’t miss it. It’s got huge colored glass windows in the front.”

“Right, colored glass,” Zeke hums, eyes down at the wheel of this beast he now wields. He tries to change it to drive, but the stick shift stays in place. His thick brows furrow.

“Oh. Ah, foot on the brake, and then you switch gears.”

“Got it,” he tries, and the whole thing shifts as it switches into drive. His eyes widen with inexperience.

“Just… Zeke? Before you take off,” Lewis starts, catching Zeke’s attention. He drops his voice down low as he continues, “please, please be careful. Mr. Wright will get extremely upset if the cart gets damaged.”

There’s a desperation in Lewis’ light green eyes, so Zeke can tell that this is serious. So, he tries his best to reassure his manager, “yeah, man. I’ll be safe. Don’t sweat it, alright?”

“Okay,” Lewis says real small, and then takes a few steps back to allow for the golf cart’s passing. He forces another little smile, and he picks his voice back up, “okay! Good luck out there.”

Zeke pushes the vehicle forward with the press of a peddle, and the thing jolts forward. His umber eyes widen, and his focus jumps towards Lewis, whose smile quickly falters back into worry. Zeke drives out of the garage, immediately feeling the mist of rain on his skin. Truth be told, the weather has lightened up… But only a little. It’s still totally unfair that his boss is sending him out in this weather, even if it is kind of fun to drive this thing.

He ascends the mountainside towards the front of the building. From the outside, the Hotel looks even more glum and tired in this weather. Due to the power outage, the exterior and interior lay completely engulfed by the darkness of the storm. Zeke can’t help but notice this pit that forms in his stomach as he eyes Heart Hollow Hotel. Amidst the rain, the building stands as a monolith jutting out from the mountain side. Its sharp edges and sleek angles juxtapose the natural curvature of the soft mountains. It almost looks like a tumor, extending itself out from the Earth’s surface.

Nonetheless, Zeke continues to toot along on his little motor vehicle, back down the mountainside towards the rest of the Resort. He breaks once he reaches the outing into the main loop. He looks left, and then right, and then left again. Once he determines that nobody in their right mind would be driving up through the Resort right now, he follows Lewis’ word and turns right.

He glides down the road, and his focus meanders onto the foliage around him. The dark green trees sway as the wind rustles their leaves, which shimmer under wet coats. Zeke isn’t sure if the greenery is supposed to be this wild and close to the road, or if the upkeep of the Resort has fallen flat due to the land being nearly abandoned. He can’t help but wonder if Lauren, the negligent maintenance man, is supposed to upkeep these lively trees.

Further down the cracked, overgrown concrete road, the trees to his left open up to a decent sized body of water. Across the way, he notices a rectangular structure jutting over the lake. As he recalls the map hanging up in the Hotel lobby, he realizes that this is the building he’s looking for. Zeke hits the gas just a little harder, despite the little tires not being designed for such slippery weather. Within a few minutes, Zeke cruises right on up to Heartwood Hall.

Under the semi-useless shade of the golf cart, his big brown eyes peer up to the Hall with wonder. It was a peculiar looking building, with an exterior of mostly stone and wood. Just as Lewis had stated earlier, nearly the entire front wall is made of towering pink and purple stained glass to fit the Resort’s rather tacky design scheme. The teen cocks his head to the side and mumbles to himself, “whoever designed this Resort must have really liked stained glass.”

Zeke shifts the vehicle into park in a clunky way as he initially forgets to put his foot on the brake. As he gets out, he makes haste towards the building’s entrance. He pulls the huge glass door open without even needing a key. Zeke speaks to himself as he enters the building, “seems a little unsafe to keep it unlocked like that.”

His eyes scan the building that he just entered, and he’s amazed because it’s deceptively large inside. The bones of this banquet hall are beautiful; the interior architecture being supported by raw stone columns and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The ceiling is panelled in wood, which parallels the parquet wood floors that have been dented and scratched by time. Unfortunately, the classy chandeliers that hang at central parts of the Hall are not illuminated.

Architecture aside, Heartwood Hall is filled to the brim with all sorts of things. Up towards the front of the Hall, there are large items piled in rows: wood grain mini-fridges, low center tables, velvet couches, rope fences, box televisions, and some mattresses of various shapes and sizes. Towards the sides of the Hall, there are wire-frame metal shelves that hold dozens of cardboard boxes. Zeke says, “damn. That’s a lot of junk.”

As he wanders further into the building, the brunette finds himself looking out one of the back windows. He notices a door that leads out onto a covered patio, and he decides to dip out for a moment to smoke a cigarette. Outside, he checks his phone and scrolls for a bit as he works on a cigarette. Nothing too fantastic on his feed. At least, nothing as cool as enjoying a nicotine buzz atop an abandoned banquet hall’s patio in the middle of a summer rainstorm. 

After several minutes, he treks back inside and makes a beeline towards the big metal shelving units. Each dusty cardboard box wears curly handwriting that indicates what’s hidden within. A few labels catch his eye, which leads him to peek inside with curiosity. He comes across some nice whiskey glasses, a couple branded bathrobes, and some very sick ashtrays with the Resort’s logo embedded in the cup. These would make for some very nice amenities within the rooms, however Zeke assumes they’d probably get stolen as well.

He also finds huge slabs of stained glass propped in front of the shelving units. Zeke’s careful when he examines them: perfectly cut circles and triangles and rectangles in pinks and purples. From the mounts on the back, it appears that these may have been hanging on the walls at one point. He finds several brass frames of many different sizes, all holding black and white photos, pressed flowers, or watercolor sketches. There are a few ornate mirrors that have oxidized over time, leaving black spots within the reflective surface.  When Zeke catches a glimpse of himself, he tries to tussle up his damp curtain bangs.

Eventually, his search comes to its conclusion as he finds the box labeled: Ice Buckets. With the medium sized box in hand, he treks back through Heartwood Hall. As he exits the building, the rain starts to come down a little bit harder again… Which only forms a few curse words in Zeke’s mouth. Of course he was sent out in this awful weather. Of course the storm is picking back up. Of course thunder and lightning roll in the distance, and of course he’s getting drenched now.

Quickly, he shoves the box into the foot of the passenger's side. He hops into the driver’s seat, and he goes over the mental checklist as he fiddles with the key within his slippery hands: foot on the brake, and then turn the key. Foot stays on the brake, and then shift to drive.

Unintentionally, Zeke speeds through the gently sloping hills in the golf cart. As he approaches the turn into the Hotel’s access road, he accelerates with misplaced confidence. Under him, the wheels skid, and he grips the steering wheel as he tries to regain control. His breath hitches as the entire cart swerves off into a ditch by the road. Luckily, it gets caught by the thick, ungroomed foliage, but the ricochet forces his forehead to hit the steering wheel. He groans and grits his teeth in pain as he rubs his palm against the bump that’s already starting to form. As he opens his eyes, he’s thankful that the cart is still upright at least.

The cool rain pricks his skin and dots his clothes, but he isn’t thinking about that right now. In this moment, he feels the weight of the strange day on his shoulders. Not only today, but every other day wandering the countryside that led him to this strange place in the mountains. Through clenched teeth, he gasps, “why am I here?”

After a few loose sobs, he reluctantly opens his eyes back up to the road ahead of him. Although his vision is spinning, his eyes catch a figure in his peripherals, and his entire body freezes. Just up the hill, towards the Hotel, stands the fuzzy image of an unnaturally large deer that keeps distance from the fool in the golf cart.

Zeke tries to ignore the pounding in his head from the collision as he notices the peculiar shape of his antlers. They twist out from his skull towards the heavens, and then they jut down towards the buck’s massive skull. Maybe Zeke’s just spent a little too much time around the Hotel & Resort’s ongoing theme of hearts, but he could almost swear…

Zeke’s thought is cut off; the buck shakes his head of rain water and hops up the hill towards the Hotel. Maybe it’s just the adrenaline from the hydroplane, or maybe it’s the fact that he could have been speared by the largest antlers he’s ever seen… But Zeke’s heart is pounding, and his chest burns. He lays his throbbing skull against the headrest, and his inhales are sharp as he grips at the damp pink polo atop his breast.

Once his head stops spinning, he decides that he’s done playing in this rain. So, he gets out to push the golf cart out of the foliage. As he’s puttering up the road and the Hotel comes back into view, he can’t help but wonder: where the hell did that buck go?

❧

Zeke successfully manages to get himself and his now soggy cardboard box back up to the Hotel in one piece. He parks the golf cart in the same spot within the parking level. He nearly forgets the key in the engine as he collects all of his things. He carries the box up through the garage and up towards the stairwell. To Zeke’s surprise, this door also opens without a key, which allows for him to just enter the building with ease. He remarks, “didn’t know it was that easy.”

Up the stairs, he keeps tabs on each flight as he ascends: parking, ground, and then level one. The mismatched floors of this peculiarly shaped building don’t make much sense to him, but he’s starting to get the hang of it.

Once he exits the stairwell, he tracks water onto the matted shag as he meanders through the long, empty halls. He’s only assisting the obvious mold problem that makes this place reek. Eventually, he locates the door to the management hallway. Zeke isn’t sure exactly where Lewis is, but he figures the man’s closet-office is a good place to start. As he creeps into the cramped management hallway, he hears voices coming from Mr. Wright’s executive office. It’s different this time; the door is ajar and the noises coming from inside aren’t outright lewd. Actually, it sounds like Lewis and Mr. Wright are talking about something serious. 

Zeke catches a glimpse of the office’s inside, and he sees Mr. Wright sitting comfortably behind a sturdy wooden desk. Atop his desk, there’s a young lady that doesn’t wear one of the Resort pink polos but regular day clothes. Zeke only catches a glimpse, but she’s got curly brown hair and a plump figure. In her hands, she looks over a bound book. In front of the desk, Lewis stands with his arms crossed behind his back formally.

So as to not get caught eavesdropping, Zeke dips into the storage closet between the two offices. From the shade of the closet, he hears Lewis say,  “Mr. Wright, I’m just proposing that I’d be happy to look over the budget for you. Bills, payments, income. Anything.”

The boss man responds, “look, I get it. I messed up this one time. But guess what? I’ve got my girl Angeline looking over the budget in her free time. She’s in college. Ain’t that something? What, ah… Whatcha studying again, darling?”

The young woman’s voice picks up, “you know that I’m studying for my nursing degree… Right, Andrei?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mr. Wright grumbles, “well, what’s really important is that Angeline’s in school, so she knows all about how to balance a checkbook.”

“Message received,” Lewis sighs, “but with all due respect, sir. It’s not just the bills that are being overlooked here. The Hotel is falling under severe disrepair, and Lauren is struggling to keep up with even the most basic of tasks. I - there’s ceiling leaks everywhere. I had to send our new-hire down to Heartwood Hall for more buckets to collect the rain water,” he says with an exhausted, pitiful laugh.

Mr. Wright sighs rather loudly, and his chair creaks as he readjusts his seating. When he speaks, he sounds way more agitated, “look, Lockheart. I get it. I make one little mistake, and you take the opportunity to beg me for my job.”

“No, sir, that’s not it at all,” Lewis pleads.

“I wasn’t done,” the older man says through gritted teeth, “I get it. You’re good at your job. But, boy? You’re nowhere near worthy for this position. For this chair, this desk. For an office.”

“Sir, I believe we’ve reached a misunderstanding,” Lewis says, “I’m beyond happy with my position. However… if you need me to take on more responsibilities, such as managing the Resort’s bills, I’d be more than happy to.”

Mr. Wright laughs, “and what? Pay you more overtime?”

“Well, we’re back to a full team, so you shouldn’t have to.”

“God, help me,” he grumbles, “Lewis, look at me. I paid our electric bill. Albeit, it’s a teeny tiny bit late. So what if they cut off our power today? Let’s just be grateful that it happened during this big storm, huh?”

There’s nothing but silence between the two men for a moment, and Zeke’s breathing stops, almost afraid of getting caught. Mr. Wright eventually continues, “power’ll be back on by tomorrow. Case closed. So why don’t you just get back out there and do what you do best? Cover. My. Ass.”

There’s hesitation before Lewis finally responds, “yes, sir.”

Once Zeke realizes that Lewis is about to head down the hallway, he ducks further back into the depths of the storage closet. He watches as the tall ginger walks right on by, and he catches this look of subdued frustration on the guy’s face.

Zeke stays frozen for several moments, completely unsure of what to do. He’s stuck in this stupid little closet, so he contemplates every option out of this situation before he decides to just wait it out for a few minutes. After all, that was a pretty rough conversation to listen to, so maybe it would be best to let Lewis cool down a bit. Once he gets bored, which isn’t long, he slinks around the corner of the closet’s exit and enters into the door frame of Lewis’ closet-office. The ginger sits at his desk and writes something in his trusty pink clipboard.

“Hey, uh,” Zeke starts, his voice cracking in the slightest as he gathers his boss’ attention. Lewis peers up from his work, and his green eyes look heavy, yet apologetic. He continues, “I didn’t know how many buckets to grab, so I just brought the whole box. Hope that’s cool.”

“Yes, thank you, Zeke,” Lewis says, “did everything go okay? I noticed that you were out a bit longer than I had anticipated.”

“Oh,” Zeke hums, putting his soggy box down on the linoleum below them. He contemplates telling Lewis about his freak turboplane and strange buck encounter, but he ultimately decides against it. He shrugs as he returns the keyring back to his boss, “everything went fine. I couldn’t find what I was looking for. But, ya know. Eventually, I found it. Just took some time.”

This makes Lewis chuckle as he casts his eyes down towards his clipboard, “well, good,” he says. He mindlessly moves a few pages around, and he says in a soft, low voice, “I’m sorry for sending you out in the rain like that.”

Zeke shrugs, and he looks down towards his soggy sneakers, “yeah. I mean, it’s cool. It wasn’t ideal, but it seems like a lot of shit around here isn’t exactly ideal. It is what it is.”

Lewis stifles a smile that shows his agreeance. When they finally meet eyes again, the vulnerability in his voice is gone as Lewis gets right back to work, “yes, well. Thank you for the buckets. If you wouldn’t mind finishing up that list I gave you, I’d surely appreciate it.”

“Yeah. I’ll be back in a bit,” Zeke hums as he collects a decent sized stack from the box. He ducks out of the closet-office and into the main hallway of the Hotel.

He makes it a few feet away before he hears Lewis call out to him, “hey, Zeke? Real quick.”

He turns around to see Lewis standing just outside the managerial hallway, so he asks, “yeah, what’s up?”

“Ah. Here’s this… If you wanted it,” Lewis says lightly, and he holds out a neatly folded bath towel.

Zeke lets out a small, unexpected, “oh.”

They meet each other halfway, and Zeke sets his stack of buckets down at his feet to accept the towel. He dries his thick auburn hair off, and then drapes it over his shoulders. He grins a tooth-gapped smile, because he’s already starting to feel better after such a strange day, “thanks, man. I needed that.”

Through the hardships of the day on Lewis’ face, there’s a small, but honest smile as he responds, “of course, Zeke.”