The story so far: Quinn makes a deal with a demon named
Azazel - who has somehow been forced into a robotic body. Three years
later, Quinn is a runaway and Azazel is going by the name Issac. The two
of them are traveling the country in search of the people who made
Issac the way he is now, but run into a little roadblock when their
newest (and best) lead is killed by a hunter.
After
taking a bus to the next town over, they run into Issac's friend Bell
at a hotel called Abe's Lodge. But before Quinn and Issac could get to
their room, they find out about a series of disappearances that have
been taking place around town. They decide to investigate the latest
disappearance by going to a haunted house called Lowland Haunts.
After
getting several clues, they return to their hotel room and have a
discussion on Quinn's past. The last chapter ends with Issac revealing that some demons are fallen angels.
Author's Note: After reading through some reviews, it's come to my attention that I completely forgot to name the town. I've finally settled on a name for it - Moriah - so don't be surprised when the name pops up in the next few chapters!
Chapter 6
If the tissues in Issac's pocket hadn't given it away,
his suggestion to have an early dinner at Moriah's only bar and
restaurant made it clear that he had expected Quinn to be upset after
their conversation. Moriah had other restaurants, but they were all
cheap fast food places – and Quinn could only have so many greasy
burgers in a single week. By the time that they returned to their
room that night, her conversations with Issac from earlier in the day
felt like a distant memory. It really shouldn't have been a surprise
to either one of them when Quinn fell asleep in the middle of
watching TV.
The next morning,
Quinn was greeted by the familiar sight of Issac sitting in the
armchair in the corner of the room. The chairs and places they were
never in were never the same, but the position always was: one leg
crossed over the other, one arm on the armrest, and the other holding
up a book in front of a seemingly emotionless face. He gave her a nod
as she got up – too engrossed in his copy of Dante's Inferno
to pay all that much
attention.
Quinn went through the same routine she always did. She
ironed her clothes, even though her plain t-shirt had only a few
wrinkles. She took a shower and tried to remember if she had seen the
brand of shampoo before. Then she dried her hair, slipped a headband
in as a last-ditch attempt to fully wake up by getting the hair out of her face, and joined Issac as they
went to the breakfast buffet.
By the time they
arrived, a few other hotel guests were already lingering at marble
counters and wooden tables. Quinn tried to keep her focus on the
cereal dispensers and fridge as she grabbed a yogurt, but it was hard
keeping her gaze away. She caught a glimpse of a pair of fangs like
Bell's. Their owner was eating a piece of toast and drinking a very
dark cup of what was either cranberry juice or blood. Another person
had eyes that were almost like an animal's; they devoured a piece of
bacon in a single go. A third person had hair that was bright blue,
right down to its roots. Her eyes were just as impossible: one pink
and one purple. If it wasn't for the fact that both eyes had been as
blue as her hair a second before, Quinn would have thought that they
were just contacts.
And then there was Bell, who was flickering among all
of the guests and chatting with them about almost anything under the
sun. Quinn gave a little smile as she grabbed an apple from a nearby
bowl; it was a calming place to start her morning in.
She joined Issac at the table he had saved underneath
the TV. It was too loud in the buffet room to hear what was on the
TV, but he still had his eyes on it. It wasn't until she peeled open
the top of the yogurt that he finally looked over at her.
“How did you sleep?” he asked.
“Good,” she said. “I think I had a nice dream,
but I don't remember it.”
Issac gave a small nod. Quinn looked down at his side
of the table. He usually grabbed a piece of fruit to make it look
like he could eat and saved it Quinn to have later, but his spot was
surprisingly empty.
She plunged her plastic spoon into the yogurt cup.
“What should we do today?”
He glanced back at the TV behind them.
“The weather report predicts clear skies and cool
weather today,” he said, turning back to face her. “We could talk
a walk through town.”
Quinn paused, the spoon awkwardly lingering in the air.
“Shouldn't we look for more clues?”
Issac folded his hands together and placed them on the
table; his body would have looked unnaturally still to anyone who
didn't know that his body was made of electronics. Quinn could hear
the soft, gentle whir of Issac's motors going. It was too soft for
anyone who wasn't used to the noise to notice, but even Quinn started tuning it out after awhile. “We could revisit Lowland
Haunts, but I doubt that it would be open so early in the morning. We
could also go to Adam or Gabriel's addresses, but I doubt we would
get far with either one of them. Adam's apartment likely is closed
off to visitors, and Gabriel probably wouldn't let either one of us
in.”
Quinn let out a tiny sigh.
It felt wrong to take a break right after they had just
gotten a lead, but she also knew that Issac probably had a point.
Maybe walking around town would help them stumble onto some kind of
clue.
“Walking around town sounds good,” she finally
relented.
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