Jessica shivers and hugs herself tighter. Feeling a little annoyed that she still feels cold she glances back over her shoulder and us shocked to see the sun, the truck, or anyone else who was just behind her.
She does a double-take, just to make sure she's not seeing things. Confirming that it's real, or real enough, Jessica tries to move back next to Jerry.
Carlos, Kavax and Jerry find themselves walking by Jessica with no memory of walking the distance, nor a sensation that this was at all odd. Jessica, for her part, got to experience what it was like to have some appear next to her without warning. More concerning for her is that, for once, she was unable to move in her usual, supernatural way. Or rather, her angelic part noted, she had specified an unreachable destination. Like trying to travel into the inner sanctum of the Heavens.
A shriek escapes Jessica's mouth when Jerry appears next to her unexpectedly. She tries to recover, but she's pretty sure her wings appeared and flapped in shock. "I, uh, didn't see you there," she stammers and wills away the large feathered appendages.
She jams her hands back into her hoodie's pockets and turns to face the hotel. "Maybe you should have taken the truck. I don't think you can get back to it." Jessica nods her head in the direction back the way they came. "I tried to go back and warn you, but I couldn't."
She didn't like the implications of that. It explained what the radio lady said about no one leaving, but didn't explain how. Though, maybe it was better that she was trapped. She and Kavax, for that matter. She frowns as she thinks about Jerry and Mr. Garcia, since they didn't need to be.
"If we can't get back to it, then whatever is happening here is probably worth our attention no Jessica?"
He kept a brave and upbeat attitude for the young lady, "Let's see what happens before we jump to conclusions."
"Yeah," Jessica sighs. "It's freezing out here, too. The hotel's probably where all the bad stuff's going to happen, but at least it'll be warm."
The glowing doors open at the groups approach, a concierge opens the door with a flourish and a bow. "Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to the Cliffside Keep. Please, do come in out the cold. Do you have any luggage?"
"I think we all have luggage, but not the kind you can just pick up."
He gives a quick scan of the concierge.
"Nope," Jessica says bluntly as she walks inside.
She looks around the entryway, but then a sudden thought hits her. She grabs Jerry and whispers, "What if we need a reservation?"
She peeks over the concierge's shoulder to see if there's a check-in list and if there's any names they could use.
Jessica spots a guestbook behind the front reception desk, at the far end of the reception area. There is also a rack with keys on it - that seems to be about 3/4 full, suggesting most of the hotel is occupied. You'd need to get closer to the front desk to read the book.
Carlos gets a general sense of unease. It might be that the staff are simply overwhelmed, or they area aware that -something- isn't right and are tense because of it, but they don't seem to be actively hiding anything.
Kavax shrugged. "Don't carry much luggage beyond what's on me most of the time."
He did wonder exactly what was going to turn out to be the center of whatever magic was in effect here, but figured voicing that to people who were apparently bystanders wouldn't be wise. That and it was probably best not to draw too much attention to himself. Better not to strain the illusion.
Jessica decides to do the one thing to make sure she's ignored. She pulls out her phone and starts staring at it.
Curiosity about their current situation has her activating it and doing a quick check for cellular service, but then she moves over to stand at the far end of the reception area. She keeps up the appearance of a teenaged girl tuning out the real world in favor of her phone while she puts herself in the position of getting a better look at the names in guestbook.
The concierge looked up at Kavax and tried not to gasp. It was clear he was not used to anything that looked like him. "I, uh, guess you wouldn't.
The receptionist looks up from the phone they seem to be trying to get to work - a large rotary phone - and gasped at Jessica's phone. [b]"Oh, wow, what is that gizmo?" She was clearly not familiar with the phone, but it gave Jessica a chance to see the list of guests, and which ones aren't listed as 'arrived'.
Jessica waves the cell phone in front of the receptionist's face. "Duh. It's a phone." She points to the rotary devices. "What's that thing?"
The receptionist gave Jessica a very strange look. "A phone." She stared at it for a moment. "One that isn't working right now."
Kavax rolled his eyes, as apparently they weren't bothering at subtlety.
"Hey, weird stuff is going on here. Probably best not to think on it too much. Well, unless something scary tries to eat you."
He also checked over his shoulder to make sure that the dragonkin following him around were not, in fact, planning on eating anybody. Well, at least unprovoked.
"Mine's not either."
Jessica stuffs it in her hoodie pocket and then wills it away. She walks over to Jerry and Mr. Garcia. "We can be the 'Webley' party. There's a reservation for six, with two adjoining rooms," she whispers. "There's a reservation for Donaldson if you want Kavax to get him and his peeps their own room."
The concierge looked at the pack of...beings, and nodded his agreement. "Yes, sir, something certainly is." He glanced at the powerful jaws, and asked, "Eat me?"
The receptionist nodded. "Well, yeah, it's not even wired in."
Jerry has responded and acted appropriately to everything that has happened to him since the rest of the party joined Jessica.
Taking in the décor of the hotel and the interchange between Jessica and the staff about phones, Jerry has an idea. He looks around for a complimentary newspaper. If he doesn't see one, he'll ask the concierge for one. When he gets his hands on one, he'll check the date.
"Webley works." He whispers back to Jessica.
Looking around Carlos wondered what could be going on here. He thought back to multiple horror movies in a hotel and settled on it being something more akin to 1408 than The Shining or Puppetmaster.
There was knowledge in film, even if it was a little exaggerated.
"How long have you been working here?
Jessica looks at Mr. Garcia impatiently, and gives a nod toward the receptionist. "Like, do you want me to...?" She sighs when he starts questioning the concierge further. "Okay, then."
She makes her way back to the reception desk. "Hey again. We're the Webley party. Can we go ahead and check in? My dad and my uncles back there are getting the luggage taken care of."
"Of course Ms Webley," the receptionist said, one last look of mild confusion at the phone, passing over two keys. "The adjoining door has been left open, as per the request. Would you like to pre-order breakfast or dinner?" She glanced out the window at the snow with a 'what else you gonna do, starve?' look.
"Oh, I was here before the refurbishment, sir," the concierge responds, possibly to avoid wondering what was going to eat him. "About two years."
Carlos shrugged, he wasn't just about to step in front of the vengeance angel and treat her like a child. She could go to the front desk; would probably be safer that way.
"I think we all might need some breakfast and dinner." He lifts his glasses off his eyes and onto the top of his head, "Now what about this refurbishment, what do you mean by that?"
"Yeah, breakfast and dinner would be great." Jessica snags the keys and looks at them. "Wow, you actually use keys here? Fancy."
She starts to leave, but stops as a question hits her. "Oh, do you have a pool? Or an exercise room? And what's the WiFi password?"
"Weefee?" the reception said with a slightly blank look, but shook there head. "We do have a pool and a gym, though. It's just off the restaurant."
The concierge nodded. "Oh, the building was a stately home until 5 or so years ago, and then converted to a guest house. But it didn't really work the way it should, since it was more of a home than a business. So they did a full refurbishment, giving the rooms ensuite, and a new heating system." He gestured to the pleasantly warm reception area, and the fact the snow seems to be melting about a foot away from the glass front doors.
Jessica shakes her head. "No. Why - fye. Geeze, I'm in the past aren't I? Nevermind. Don't answer that."
She jingles the keys at Jerry and Mr. Garcia, then tosses one set to Kavax. She checks out the room number of the key she kept and heads off to check out the Webley's rooms.
He looks around for a complimentary newspaper. If he doesn't see one, he'll ask the concierge for one. When he gets his hands on one, he'll check the date.
She jingles the keys at Jerry and Mr. Garcia, then tosses one set to Kavax. She checks out the room number of the key she kept and heads off to check out the Webley's rooms.
Jerry follows, but when he gets to an elevator or stairwell, he stops to examine any posted fire plan he sees. He wants to know the layout and any exits and entrances. After he studies the layout, he'll join the others in their room(s).
The room are excellent...by the standards of the 1980's, which meant the TV was 24 inches and the rooms were painted in a shade of paisley. Still, the beds took up most of the room, looked quite comfortable and well made. There was a large phone by the bedside, along with a travel bible, and a closet on wall. The bathroom was simply but tiled in white and the bath was quite large and deep. A menu and the fire procedure were stuck to the back of the door.
Jerry checks a newspaper on the side stand - December 11th, 1984. Th front page is about the Maurentania Coup led by Col Maawiya Ould Sid'ahmed Taya.
He finds the fireplan at regular intervals, giving a good layout of the public areas of the building - it's pretty clear that the map doesn't include the back of house areas, and there is likely a basement and attic section also not included - but it at least shows the best way to leave the building in the event of a fire.
Jessica wanders around the room for a few minutes, peeking out the window and checking out the bathroom. She catches her appearance in the mirror and nearly frightens herself.
She stares at her face for a while, remembering when all it mattered to her was her regular skin care regimen and perfecting that "natural" makeup look.
She couldn't remember if she'd had a zit since she became... what she is now.
Disgusted with herself for her current existence and her vapid life from before, she starts the water running in the shower and shucks of her dirty clothes and armor. She steps under the water not caring if it was cold or hot and lets it run.
Carlos didn't like this place. In all rights he should have, it was like living a movie, but something was off.
"What did you notice Jerry?" The hunter sees him pause and looks over his shoulder, "Maybe we should check out this fire escape, knowing our history with buildings and fire..."
Jerry turns to Carlos and points to indicate they're thinking the same thing.
"Exactly. Figure that there's a chance we'll have to move quickly, so I wanted to know the layout.
"If there's nothing interesting in the room, let's go exploring."
Kavax followed along slightly awkwardly, before having a thought. "So, this place seems like it's from the past, right? Anybody got any ideas for how to tell whether it's actual time travel, dragged out from stasis or something, or some kind of illusion or mind trickery? There's lots of options and not much to tell from."
He simmered for a moment, before looking over his shoulder.
"Hey, Del-Gan, you got any ideas? Might be something like what you got up to back in the old days."
The robed being with Kavax shrugs. "Illusion. Time travel. Alternative planes. Journey to the centre of the mind. Journey to the centre of the soul. Could be anything. Could be a bad plate of mushrooms for someone, and none of this, including all of time and space that we have experienced, is nothing more than the ranting ramblings of a man who thought 'hey, those red spotted ones would go great in an omelette'! Hard to say until you know more."
The rooms, bar the shower currently being occupied by a quasi-angelic being and probably therefore unsafe to search at that moment, were clean and well maintained, for the usual hotel version of well maintained. There was nothing unusual, bar the map.
It did give a few places to check out, potentially, in the front of house sections - the fire exits were a good bet, of course. There was also a Lounge for guests (nightly movies!), a restraunt with a small menu (pre-book your table if you want to be served at a certain time, meals finish at 10, no service after 12) and a bar nestled between the two. There's also a conservatory where the pool and a basic gym is located, and a nice looking garden. Sadly, the last one seems to be covered in three feet of snow.
After a long and cathartic shower, Jessica steps out of the bathroom. Her hair is wrapped in a towel, and the rest of her body is wrapped in another one.
She peeks through the door linking the two rooms. "So, I was thinking of checking out the pool this evening. I haven't had a swim since, well, before." She calls forth a turquoise one-piece suit she had bought during her spending spree before the incident with the werewolves. "Hopefully it won't be full of bratty kids, or, you know, pee. But this hotel is such a throwback! I can't help but think this is like a place my parents would have been brought to when they were kids."
She steps out of view to put on her bathing suit, but leaves the door open so the others could answer back.
The smell of chlorine makes it hard to miss the pool, housed in a large and impressive glass structure which it, must be said, would work a lot better if it wasn't completely steamed up. The pool itself is a standard olympic sized pool, tiled in various shade of blue, with a very bored looking life guard in shorts sitting, staring at the mostly empty pool. A woman in a black one piece is doing laps on one side of the pool.
Jessica kicks off her flip-flops as she enters the pool area and throws one of the room's towels she'd brought with her over one of the deck chairs. The smell of the chlorine takes her back to her days at the Y when she was much younger.
She dips her toes into the water, less concerned about the temperature and more because of a strange curiosity about whether her angelic nature would disagree with the chlorine.
Assuming the water doesn't burn her, she walks around to the deep end and dives in. She surfaces, slicks her hair back, then starts doing lazy laps on the opposite side from the pool's other occupant.
The water was fine, warm enough to be comfortable and, thankfully, not proof against angelic might. The other woman paused, looking over with mild curiosity before continuing her laps.
As much as Carlos thought the lounge would give them some information about the people here, he moved to the escape routes. "We can tackle the information gathering after but let's cover our tails in case something comes for us... And something always does."
Thinking on Kavax's question Carlos speaks up, "I won't be able to give you anything of substance until we know more. I mean, I can make up a theory if it would settle your down a bit but you don't seem like the type."
It takes him a second to realize the robed figure, "Wait, did I miss something? Who or what is that?"
After a few laps, Jessica pulls herself out of the water and sits on the edge of the pool. She takes a longer look at the woman swimming on the other side, and the lifeguard. A small voice in her reminds her of the times when she would take surreptitious glances at the teenaged boys around the pool, usually roughhousing or generally being dopes, but still feeling the butterflies in her stomach whenever she caught them looking at her.
It strikes her that she never once looked at a boy with that same feeling since her rebirth.
Jessica shivers, but it's not because of the water or the snowstorm outside. She stands up, and goes back to the lounge chair and starts toweling off.
The young man is certainly taking interest, but it seems more out of habit than any real interest. He seems to have seen many, many pretty girls in swimsuits the last few months.
The other woman seems to be taking more interest in you, although you can't say why. Maybe it's simply uncommon to see anyone else in the pool, but she typically glances over at least once per lane.
As Jessica tilts her head to shake out the small amount of water that's gotten into her ears, she looks back at the woman. She doesn't concentrate too hard, in case the Fury picks up something she doesn't want to see, but still makes brief eye contact.
She decides to linger in the pool area a while longer, so she calls forth her cell phone and her ear buds while using the towel to hide the fact that they appeared out of nowhere. She pops the earbuds in as she lays down on one of the lounge chairs and starts playing the limited playlist she has saved on the phone.
The woman's eyes open wide when she sees the cell phone, and she hauls herself out the pool, walking over. "Hi, sorry, but are you from the presen-uh, the futu-, ah, damnit. The 2020's?"
Jessica looks up. She'd been deliberately avoiding facing the fact that the hotel and everyone in it was probably in the past. She also felt strangely okay with it. Sort of like a vacation. She had more existential worries anyway.
She tugs an earbud out as she looks at the woman. "Yeah. Sucks that I can't bring up TikTok. Lemme guess, you too? How long have you been here?"
"A day," she said, slowly, wrapping her arms around herself as she dripped. "This day, specifically, about 30 or so times. I've lost count."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean, 'this day'? Is this like that Bill Murray movie with the gopher?"
"Yes, but no." The woman frowned. "There's two differences. One is we always die. Usually there's a fire. Some people tried to escape, get away, but the cold gets them. And there's something else. We don't if it's a person or...something else, but it kills us."
She paused. "The second is we don't all make it back. Sometimes someone from our time doesn't show up in the next loop. We don't know why."
Frowning, she says, "I'm Jessica. What's your name?"
When she gets it, she says, "I should go. I know some people who might be able to help. I'll see you later." Jessica picks up the towel and throws it over her shoulders.