The drive was drenched in more silence as the car radio seemed to be only picking up different flavours of static and Cat couldn't be bothered looking at the phone. A short drive anyway, who cares. The soft hum of the engine seemed strangely appealing as replacement either way so she settled for it, turning right onto what the locals called the freeway but what was essentially just a mountain road like all the others, except wider.
On her right, a giant grey square started peeking out from in between the mountains. Fort Felicity, some sort of old army base, Vin had said. When they'd arrived, it was hidden in rain, fog and also it being the middle of the night and she'd dismissed it as a big grey blob of concrete among big grey blobs of grass and fir and cliff but now, in daylight, the emerging structure seemed to have grown both in size and complexity - hundreds of windows and white and red lights were strewn around a complex mess of geometric shapes cast in concrete and metal and centered on multiple huge overlapping cubes. A bit ahead, a path split off from the road and led to a large gate in a wall of white concrete, decorated with what she assumed to be 'do not enter' signs of various shapes, sizes and wordings. So this is their landmark, thought Cat. Town name and everything. New York has their statue, Paris had the Eiffel tower and Felicity has a stone blob. She couldn't figure out whether that was a good thing or not.
The road wound upward around the mountain, leaving the Fort obscured again but revealing more of the pleasantly blue sky and the striking vista of down below. Over the edge of the cliff, hundreds of feet down, stretched a sea of conifers of all shapes and sizes, closely hugging the teal of the lake. The occasional coloured rooftop peeked through them and multiple large wind turbines spun calmly at the horizon. And just around the corner, there it was. In the most scenic location of the Felicity area, there stood the Seven Pillars.
The hotel had looked prettier in the rain, she realised. Detailed classical columns and corner pieces clashed with what was otherwise an extremely modern and minimalist building, its upper three floors overhanging the edge of the cliff - each a little further - on the side that faced the valley. Only a few cars littered the large parking lot, distributed across it seemingly at random. Nobody in sight either as she got out, a slow day to be sure. Remote and scenic corners typically are either a blessing or a curse for hotels, but until now Cat had been fairly convinced that Pillars was solidly on the former end of the spectrum. Three, three other cars. Compared to how packed they were last week, a very slow day.
Who gives a shit, I'm here for a refund anyway - she suddenly felt mildly anxious at the sight of the ugly building. Truly ugly, how didn't they notice? The neat row of Greek or Roman columns in supporting the huge second floor balcony was carved with some sort of vaguely Asian-looking text and the minimalist front door was framed by a pattern of intertwining ivy and diamond shaped masks from a culture she didn't even want to attempt to guess, neither one fit each other or any other part of the building. Who designed this place?
Refund. Couldn't reach by phone. Who gives a shit. She was at the front door now. Push.
The receptionist this time was a tiny dark-haired and dark-eyed girl who would've looked more in-place at a high school than a four star hotel. She smiled politely as Cat walked up to the desk.
'Welcome to Seven Pillars, how may I assist you?'
Catherine opened her mouth to speak but the words got stuck in her throat. Something was off. Very off. The receptionist smiled widely and politely. Very polite. Good service.
But sadly-
It hit her so hard that it was blinding. The whole room, the entire building, was one pure clean white room. No furniture, no separating walls. No windows. Only white walls from one end of the hotel to the other and a front desk in the middle of it all. A sudden movement and a ringing noise, growing louder.
'Your place has already been taken.'
The receptionist's blonde hair flashed in the corner of her vision as the world began to darken.
On her right, a giant grey square started peeking out from in between the mountains. Fort Felicity, some sort of old army base, Vin had said. When they'd arrived, it was hidden in rain, fog and also it being the middle of the night and she'd dismissed it as a big grey blob of concrete among big grey blobs of grass and fir and cliff but now, in daylight, the emerging structure seemed to have grown both in size and complexity - hundreds of windows and white and red lights were strewn around a complex mess of geometric shapes cast in concrete and metal and centered on multiple huge overlapping cubes. A bit ahead, a path split off from the road and led to a large gate in a wall of white concrete, decorated with what she assumed to be 'do not enter' signs of various shapes, sizes and wordings. So this is their landmark, thought Cat. Town name and everything. New York has their statue, Paris had the Eiffel tower and Felicity has a stone blob. She couldn't figure out whether that was a good thing or not.
The road wound upward around the mountain, leaving the Fort obscured again but revealing more of the pleasantly blue sky and the striking vista of down below. Over the edge of the cliff, hundreds of feet down, stretched a sea of conifers of all shapes and sizes, closely hugging the teal of the lake. The occasional coloured rooftop peeked through them and multiple large wind turbines spun calmly at the horizon. And just around the corner, there it was. In the most scenic location of the Felicity area, there stood the Seven Pillars.
The hotel had looked prettier in the rain, she realised. Detailed classical columns and corner pieces clashed with what was otherwise an extremely modern and minimalist building, its upper three floors overhanging the edge of the cliff - each a little further - on the side that faced the valley. Only a few cars littered the large parking lot, distributed across it seemingly at random. Nobody in sight either as she got out, a slow day to be sure. Remote and scenic corners typically are either a blessing or a curse for hotels, but until now Cat had been fairly convinced that Pillars was solidly on the former end of the spectrum. Three, three other cars. Compared to how packed they were last week, a very slow day.
Who gives a shit, I'm here for a refund anyway - she suddenly felt mildly anxious at the sight of the ugly building. Truly ugly, how didn't they notice? The neat row of Greek or Roman columns in supporting the huge second floor balcony was carved with some sort of vaguely Asian-looking text and the minimalist front door was framed by a pattern of intertwining ivy and diamond shaped masks from a culture she didn't even want to attempt to guess, neither one fit each other or any other part of the building. Who designed this place?
Refund. Couldn't reach by phone. Who gives a shit. She was at the front door now. Push.
The receptionist this time was a tiny dark-haired and dark-eyed girl who would've looked more in-place at a high school than a four star hotel. She smiled politely as Cat walked up to the desk.
'Welcome to Seven Pillars, how may I assist you?'
Catherine opened her mouth to speak but the words got stuck in her throat. Something was off. Very off. The receptionist smiled widely and politely. Very polite. Good service.
But sadly-
It hit her so hard that it was blinding. The whole room, the entire building, was one pure clean white room. No furniture, no separating walls. No windows. Only white walls from one end of the hotel to the other and a front desk in the middle of it all. A sudden movement and a ringing noise, growing louder.
'Your place has already been taken.'
The receptionist's blonde hair flashed in the corner of her vision as the world began to darken.
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