checkingout | a gent of good intent who's content to be ( OPEN )

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a gent of good intent who's content to be ( OPEN )

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: March 3rd
What: Welcome, newbies.

ARRIVAL.

you wake up when you hit the floor in a dark room, and the air is knocked out of your lungs. the carpet is threadbare, worn with use, kind of dusty. and you're not the first person to endure this crash landing. nor will you be the last.

once your vision rights itself, you can see the well-lit hallway through the doorjam straight ahead of you. not to say there’s monsters in the shadows, but something propels you towards that door and out into the bright hallway beyond.

and once outside your room, you can hear it: the steady thrum of rain outside.

MAIN LOBBY.

there's a staircase at the end of the lengthy hallway you tumble out of. grab your suitcase and follow the dull green exit signs on the ceiling until you reach the disappointingly bland stairs that lead you down to the ornate old fashion hotel lobby.

to your left is a warmly crackling fireplace, to your right is a lobby desk. straight ahead are three large sets of doors, though only one of them is open to the public. and outside the few (curtained, permanently dark) windows is the continually steady hiss of rain. once you leave the hallway you wake up in, you won't be able to return.

welcome to the hotel.

FRONT DESK.

though there is a bell and a plaque designating the desk to be the main desk, the customer service desk, there are currently no staff members behind it. none shall answer your calls, either.

terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

SCREENING ROOM.

on a long pull-down screen, a silent version of the phantom carriage will be playing on loop. at the back of the room, between the neat rows of fold out chairs, mounted on a wobbly table is the old-timey projector, and mounted on the walls are some rather old speakers that warble out "terrifying" old music.

along the curtained windows is another long table, with a large bowl of popcorn and a large hot drink dispenser full of hot water, but without any tea or hot chocolate packets around.

OTHER.

the ballroom is currently closed, and the grand doors locked.

there is no main door leading to the outside, good luck trying to find one.

the doors to the courtyard and breakfast hall are unlocked, but looks like you've missed the morning meal. sucks for you.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors three and four. while there is an open elevator in the main lobby, and the buttons light up inside, the doors will not close. all in all, you'll be better off taking the stairs.

while they're the same stairs you undoubtedly came down to get to the lobby, the door to the endless hall everyone woke up in will not reappear between the main floor and the subsequent residential halls.

there are twenty rooms per floor. feel free to get to know your surroundings; or your neighbors as they trickle in around you.

EXISTING GUESTS.

it's late when the newcomers arrive, there's a good chance you'd been about to go to sleep (or just waking up, who knows, your mom's not here to tell you when to go to bed or get up). but if you're paying attention, you might hear the hustle and bustle in the lobby below; or maybe you're just drawn there because your gut told you to go join the commotion. whatever the case may be, go mingle!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It is so far," Leela said, frowning, tailing him like an arrow. "I am on the fourth floor. It has been rooms upon rooms."

She wished for her knives. It irritated her to no end that she did not have them.

"I'm on the third. I wonder how high up it goes."

He didn't think anything would be after them tonight. That seemed irresponsible of the people that brought them here.

"I should have looked for a roof," Leela mused. "All buildings have roofs. At least we could see something beyond this place."

"I don't know if we'd be able to see it with all this rain. The tops of tall buildings had a tendency to get cut off in weather like this."

Leela made a soft huff of a sound, her expression decidedly grumpy. The least they should be able to do is go up to a roof and see. She did, very much, want to hit something.

"If this was supposed to be vacation, someone forgot to tell the weather."

"And the staff, and the room service menu."

But she was funny, he'd give her that. It seemed as though he'd keep her around, at least for now.

"And the building," she added archly. "I do not think it likes us enough to give us a vacation. It is a pity. I could have used a real vacation."

"We all probably could. The least they could do if they aren't going to let us out is let us see the sun."

Leela's expression sobered dramatically as she climbed the stairs and she nearly stopped for a moment. It was a painful reminder that there was no outside, really. No sunshine, no sun. Nothing but the rain.

"There must be something done. I know no creature who lives like this."

"It seems odd that there will never be a weather change, unless of course who or whatever runs this place is trying to hide something that's outside."

That made sense. The rain made it difficult to see and discouraged people from spending too much time outside.

"If they wish to hide something, it means I will go out," Leela said, "and I will find it. I do not care about the weather. I am waterproof. Mostly."

She got a smile.

"Mostly. Though too much time out there could have some adverse effects." Not the least of which would be causing someone to get sick.

It could be worse if there wasn't any sort of adequate medical treatment in this place. Considering how friendly the staff was, he doubted that anything as simple as aspirin even existed.

"I do not get ill easily," Leela said slowly, thinking about it. The last time had been ill was ages ago. "I must go outside, though. It is needed."

"Why is that?"

He wasn"t looking for an argument, just an explanation. Red figured it was best to learn as much as he could about the other people trapped there with him.

"The building, it is like a weight," she said in an attempt to explain. "There are no trees, no grass, no woods. I need these things."

"Did you get much of those things when you were the President's bodyguard?"

"There were the Outlands, the wild places," Leela said, her voice quiet. "I had the orange sky, the red grasses, and the silver trees. I would go there to get out of the city. Sometimes we would go to other planets with spaces like that and it was a good thing for me."

Leela closed her eyes just for a second.

"There is building and courtyard. And rain, here. I do not like it."

While Leela talked, Red did his best to imagine the scenery as she described it. To him, it sounded both surreal and beautiful. To know that a place like that existed somewhere in the universe was amazing.

"Then I can see why constant rain would be a problem."

"I miss the trees," Leela said very quietly. "I miss the land under my feet. This breath of rain and fog does little to help. One day, I hope it changes."

"I think we all do."

Red wanted her to know she wasn't alone in wanting the weather outside to change. It was depressing.

"Hopefully, you'll see them soon."

"Until then, I have rain," Leela said, sounding none too pleased. "I would not mind it so much if there were trees. Or a garden."

"That would be nice, though I think the flowers might drown out there."

And it wasn't sunny enough for anything to live out there for any length of time.

"If the rain would stop--" Leela began and then just stopped talking. It was not likely to stop. She wanted seasons and sometimes she liked rain but not every day over and over like the sort of rain this promised.

"I hope it stops."

Red knew just as much as she did that it probably wasn't going to stop any time soon. The rain seemed to be a part of this place, just as much as the hotel.

"I do too."

"It is not something I can fight," Leela said, her voice low. "So I must outlast it."

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