THE VAMPIRE ALPHA

7-FOGGY NIGHT

THE museum is located in the city of Winnipeg and going back there would be too far for Sophia given that she had to be in safe grounds from the foggy roads when it hit town. Her options were not really much to choose from, since they were both uncomfortable because Sophia could only sleep in her own bed.

She sighed as she floored the accelerator. She chose the road that would lead her to the closest inn within the area. Living in an almost deserted part of the town which is near a forest has its perks, but the disadvantages will always be the traveling distance and the dangers of forest fires.

Her estimated time of arrival at the inn was accurate. Her car screeched to a halt as she pressed on the breaks when she reached the front of the inn's yard. Since there were no other cars, she parked in the parking space nearest to the door.

Sophia was lucky to have remembered that particular inn which she only saw once when she was new to the town. She made a wrong turn and saw the establishment. She was fascinated by it's facade, which looked like a building from the old century. Sophia loves old things and places with a lot of stories to tell that happened in the olden times. Sophia took her phone and wallet and slowly went out of her car. She suddenly felt a rush of adrenaline as she got out of her vehicle and locked her car. Every step towards the inn's door with a welcome hanging sign made her feel more excited. She pushed down the worn-out door's golden handle and went inside.

When she stepped inside, the reception booth was empty. She looked around and smiled as she saw an array of vases and figurines that might be worthwhile being displayed inside the museum. The items were carefully displayed on stands of different heights across the room. The lobby looks like an antique collector's haven.

Sophia saw the ringer bell on top of the mahogany brown L-shaped counter. She tapped the ringer three times and hoped that it was enough to call the person responsible for the inn.

While waiting, she continued to walk around the room and examine the pieces without touching them. She leaned over and saw that one of the vases could be a hundred years old, based on the markings and the style of the vase. She was about to touch the markings of the vase when she heard a voice behind her.

"How may I help you, Miss?"

"Oh God," she squealed as her hand that was about to touch the vase went to her chest. She turned around at the source of the voice.

"I'm Farel, the owner of this abode. How may I help you?"

She tried to compose herself as she recalled the name of the inn, Farel's Abode and Lodge. She was surprised that the man was only in his late forties, instead of matching the old appearance of the place.

"I'm here to rent one of the rooms for tonight. There was a forest fire near my area and well--" she realized she was telling too much information and she had to stop.

The man just stared at her. She felt weird, as if the man was reading her mind and was looking past her soul.

"You came to the right place. Since this lodge seldom receives any guests, the room I am about to lend you may seem dusty and stuffy. I will give you a 10% markdown to compensate for the inconvenience caused, but at this rate, I cannot clean the room and my assistant is not due until tomorrow morning."

Sophia only noticed then that the man was wearing prosthetics on his left leg. A metal rod on his left calf was keeping him standing. The man was wearing the same shade of clothes as her. Dark gray for his pants and a plaid black shirt for his top. The right foot of the man was wearing a black shoe.

"Do you accept cards?" Sophia asked. The man looked at her as if she had grown five heads. Sophia shook her head and, for the first time, she heard the man sigh.

"We only accept cash. If you don't have any cash, don't worry about it. You can just go back here and repay me once you have the time and the cash.

"Thank you. I think I have some cash, but I don't think that is enough."

Mr. Farel nodded and walked over slowly to go behind the counter. He took one of the keys from the mahogany brown key cabinet that matched the L-shaped booth.

"Here you go, Ms. Stark. I'm giving you the biggest room in the house. Enjoy your stay. We serve breakfast at six in the morning. You may call reception if you need anything."

Sophia looked at the phone in the lodge and wondered if it was still working. She was fascinated by the old telephone with golden handle, marble earpiece and rotational keys used to dial a number.

"Thank you. Oh, but if you could serve me dinner, any kind would do, I would really appreciate it. I haven't eaten anything since the whole day," she said as she took the keys he was offering her.

"I'll deliver something to your room later. To go to your room, take the stairs," the man pointed towards the stairs at the end of the lobby area, "at the second floor, turn left. The room at the end of the hallway will be your room for the night, Miss. Here you go. Kindly fill out the details and bring them to me once you're ready to check out." the man said.

"Thank you, again."

Sophia turned in the direction of the stairs. She could feel the air getting chillier as she walked near the stairs. She was in awe when she reached the foot of the staircase. Instead of the theme of the lobby, which is mainly wood with figurine and vase displays, the stairs screamed artwork. The balustrades and the sides of the winding staircase were painted individually with various imitations or replicas of famous artworks. Sophia's eyes gleamed with the amount of classical pieces painted there. Paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo and Rembrandt can be seen in the whole staircase.

She couldn't believe that the whole of Farel's inn could be so amazing and perfect for her. Sophia took her time admiring the staircase. When she finally reached the top of the landing, she was filled with happy thoughts. She was gripping the pen and paper that Farel gave her when she reached the room assigned to her.

When Sophia opened the door, she couldn't help but be amazed more.