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    Runaway Hotel

    Short stories by
    John W Jarrett

    Part Two: On runaways and rooms


    Tommy walked into the long hall that made the tunnel into the house and the first thing he noticed was how nice it was inside, the ground was carpeted with a nice dark green flat carpet and the walls were painted white along with the roof, the lights were of a down light variety, it looked more like a fancy house than a place put together by runaways.
    He couldn’t help but feel comfortable as he walked just behind Mia, she was only two years younger than him but she seemed like she was very much his senior.
    She wasn’t that bad looking ether, she had long silky black hair and one of those cute faces that you couldn’t help but love.
    Tommy watched as she waved at a guy who was sitting in a little nook in the tunnel, he seemed to be a guard; well he was a guard Tommy noted as he noticed the small handgun sitting on the table in front of him. The gun seemed a little overkill but then again, Tommy guessed that they would do anything to keep their way of life going.

    They exited the tunnel and entered a cellar, there a guy with a laptop sat he was with another girl who seemed like she was nine, they were talking until he saw Mia, he then stood and waited for them to walk up to him.
    “Hi, the names Kyle but around here they call me Init, don’t ask, long story,” Init said as he held his hand out to Tommy,
    “Hi,” Tommy said as he hesitantly shook Init’s hand, “I’m Tommy”
    “Tommy hay, hmmm now I hope Mia here has told you the rules?”
    “Yeah, I guess, no druggies, no one who just wants a free ride no one who has a poor reason to have run away and when you turn eighteen you go out and get a job but when you turn twenty one you move out and forget this place exists”
    “That’s about the gist of it yeah, also you will have a week trial, if you fail that, we kick you out, it’s just to keep the place safe” Init sat back down in front of his computer then looked back up at Tommy, “Well go and have a good time, you can go and eat, shower and get your room tonight, tomorrow you will get introduced to everyone formally and then you will get your job assignment” Init smiled at Mia and then went back to talking to the young girl.

    The next place Tommy and Mia went was into the lounge, there were a few people around but Mia seemed interested in only one person, a girl who looked twenty. Mia walked up to her and as she was walking she waved to the other girl.
    As they stopped the other girl smiled at Tommy and then she nodded at Mia,
    “Tommy, this is Sister, well her name is Tina but we all call her Sister as she is like a big sister to everyone, she is the current head of the house, everything goes through her,” Mia seemed happy when she talked, “Sister this is Tommy, my new recruit.”
    “Hello Tommy, well Mia took everything I could say out of my mouth so I guess all I can add is welcome and enjoy your stay, you keep to the rules and you could take over from me one day” Sister said with a smile, :Hey Mia, come talk to me once your done.”

    The next stop was the kitchen, Mia walked in first then Tommy followed, as he did he noticed the two girls and one guy standing around making some food,
    “Hey guys,” Mia said after a few seconds, “This is Tommy, do you think you could make him something while you’re at it?”
    “Of coarse” The guy said after walking up to them and holding out his hand to Tommy, when Tommy shook it the guy continued, “Welcome Tommy, I am Cook, no seriously, that is my actual name, these two girls are my younger sisters Emma and Floral, but Floral hates that name and so we call her Rose” The two girls waved in turn as they heard their names.
    One of the girls, Rose, walked up to them with a sandwich and handed it to Tommy, he took it and ate the cheese sandwich like a mad man, after he was finished he thanked them and then left.

    The last stop was upstairs; there a young guy stood waiting,
    “Tommy I presume, hello I am Connor, I handle room assignments and if you need anything like extra blankets or a softer pillow, I am the guy to see. Also I handle the rosters for eating, work and the bathrooms; we like to keep a tight shift as it helps keep everyone happy.”
    “Hi” Tommy couldn’t think of anything else to say, the guy that stood in front of him didn’t offer a hand to shake and seemed a little feminine, probably the reason, Tommy thought, that he had his job.
    The guy walked down to a room and knocked on the door, “First off you will be sharing with twelve other guys, well you would be but numbers have been short this year and this week didn’t help much ether, we have only gotten a couple of newbie’s rocking up so there is only one other guy in here, name’s Joey, good guy,” Connor stopped as the door opened and a young boy who looked twelve stood there smiling, “Joey, I would like you to meet your new room mate, Tommy, Joey, Mia has to go and talk to Sister so could you show him to the bathroom and get him all nice and clean,” Joey looked at him with this strange look, “no not that way, I mean give him a towel and tell him how to work the water.” Joey just nodded and both Mia and Connor walked off, Mia left with a smile and then she whispered something to him about meeting her on the roof in two hours.

    Tommy got dressed, he felt great, almost like a new man after the shower, he must have been in there for an hour. As he walked out of the bathroom Joey was sitting leaning against the wall across from the door, “Have a good shower?” Joey asked after he stood up and brushed him self off,
    “Oh yeah, I feel human again” Tommy smiled,
    “I know how you feel; I had been on the street for nearly a month when I was found by Cooper, another hunter like Mia,
    “Hunter?” Tommy looked at the young boy with a look of confusion,
    “Hunter, they hunt for new recruits, I hope to be one when I am old enough, you have to be fifteen to be a hunter as you have to go out at night and it’s a dangerous world out there for people that are as well off as we are in here” Joey walked down the hall with Tommy in tow, “The roof is off limits to all but a very select few like the watchmen and Sister, Mia is also a Watchman so she can be found up there when she comes back from a hunt”
    Tommy was a little hesitant at accepting the term, he felt like prey from the way Joey talked, but he liked the idea, a hunter, it actually sounded like a cool title,
    “Oh the roof access is through that door and out onto the fire escape, there is a change of shift in half an hour and Mia should be on watch then,
    Tommy looked at him wondering why he was telling him all this,
    “Oh I have great hearing, by the way, I heard what she said while she was leaving, and it helps that I can read lips.”

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    XXXXXXXJohn W Jarrett
    XXXXXXXA.k.a. Jake Williams X