"Okay... okay..." I pant, taking a series of deep breaths as I get the car started. "Step one, I need to get out of here. This girl was a cheerleader, at least in college so... somewhere without a local college I guess..."
As I carefully reverse out of the parking lot I strain to get a sense of the steering wheel, my dainty fingers fumbling with the thick plastic ring as I'm forced to relearn to drive or at least how the damn thing handles with this new body.
"... Donovan Ranges were always nice this time of year..." I muse, nibbling my lip as I slowly pull out into the quiet suburban street before mentally mapping out the quickest way to the highway. "Small towns... plenty of people coming and going for hikes and camping and..." I continue, biting down hard as I squeeze my thighs together and relish the sensation of athleticism and fitness that I had lacked for over a decade at this point.
"... and I suppose I could enjoy the exercise too" I laugh, my voice coming out in a cutesy giggle as I finally get onto a main road and on the way out of the city as a whole.
Driving out towards the mountains is a far more stressful experience than I could have ever anticipated. For the first hour, at least, I find myself struggling to get a handle on the damn car. Despite having owned it for over half a decade the handling seems completely off with my shrunken form behind the steering wheel.
It only takes a single passing police car to send chills down my spine, my knuckles growing white as they grip the steering wheel. My thoughts immediate turn to the wallet sitting in the passenger seat and the registration in the glove box, my stomach sinking as I realize that for all intents an purposes I didn't own this car anymore.
For the next few hours I practically focus every ounce of attention to my driving, my eyes darting to the speedometer constantly as I coast a comfortable amount below the speed limit in the hopes of avoiding any notice by passing highway patrol cars.
I barely register the passing buildings as I drive, the city giving way to suburbs before a brief burst of factories and warehouses. Before long any sign of civilization becomes spread further and further out, small collections of houses quickly turning to homes on larger plots before simply becoming fields of farmland and rolling hills.
The cars on the road begin to thin out as well as I drive. With each passing off ramp the dense traffic takes a sudden drop, before long only a scant few trucks and jeeps remain barreling ahead to some unknown locales.
It's only once the highway grows curvier that I begin to ease up, the road shifting to navigate around oddly shaped hills and densely packed trees. The overhead lights all but vanish, the last vestige of suburbia and the city vanishing from the winding road as more reflectors begin to pop up at the edge of the road.
The sun passes slowly overhead, the late afternoon vanishing as we creep into the early evening. It's only as the sun begins to set behind them that I spot the Donovan Ranges, the long stretch of undulating peaks coming in and out of view through the trees occasionally.
"Not going to make it before night I think" I sigh, rolling my head a bit and stretching my slender neck. I jump a little as I feel the blonde strands run across my shoulders, a gentle whimper slipping from my lips as my hair runs across my collar bone. "Where was the hotel again?"
Casting my mind to the last time I was even in the ranges I try to map out the town, or really the towns that made up the Donovan Ranges. Due to the limited space to build both in and around the wide mountains there was no real singular town to settle down in. Instead, with three roads going into and out of the ranges there had been three smaller towns that had popped up for people to stock up on fuel and supplies before going on their hiking or camping trips.
In the center of the ranges, down in a valley between the mountains and where the roads meet rests what many would consider the 'town' center. Benjamin's Rest, or Beni for short, had the most development even if it was mostly for servicing tourists to the region.
"Beni has to have a hotel..." I muse, settling in for the slightly longer drive. "... I mean, I know it has some. At least one has to have a vacancy while I settle in."
By the time I pull into the first of the ranges' border town the sun has already set, the sky itself shifting from a dark purple blue to a dark star-filled blanket. The scant few street lamps is all that let's me know I have even reached Riverston, the local 'hotel' turned bar and general store along with the gas station across from it being all that I see on the main road through. Glimpses of dirt roads carving off down into rows of old wooden homes and further buildings flash past in my peripheral vision, the town itself disappearing into the rear view almost as soon as I had reached it.
Before long I find myself on a series of winding roads, my car slowing to a crawl as I struggle to read the signs in the inky dark around me. Arrows point at each split in the road, pointing off to some summit or campground while one always seems to point towards Beni.
The roads themselves undulate up and down as much as they swerve between the mountainous path, my current altitude soon becoming lost to me as I fail to find any sort of visible landmark. Even the sky is gone for large portions of the drive, the glittering stars only coming into view on inclines before vanishing between the roof of my car and the looming mountains.
I breathe a sigh of relief as lights begin to flicker into view between winding densely packed trees, distant streetlamps and store fronts shimmering like a beacon in the night as I keep following the winding road. However, before I can reach the down I quickly bring my car to a stop, my gaze turning to a wide dirt driveway and the sign out front.
'Benjamin's Rest Motor Inn'
'No Vacancy'
Slowly turning into the driveway I find myself staring straight ahead at a rather unimpressive set of buildings. A small wooden cabin sits just off to the side of the driveway, while a singular U-shaped painted white brick building sits surrounding the driveway. A few cars sit parked in the long dirt driveway, each one sitting outside of a door while figures and shadows move in the adjacent windows.
Pulling up by the cabin I glance over its peeling white paint, old wooden boards sitting weathered and in need of replacement beneath. A small sign sits by the front door, the 'OFFICE OPEN' having been printed on the plain wooden planks in a familiar white paint.
Bringing the car to a stop I stretch out, my new and improved muscles aching and relishing the chance to flex and let themselves move after hours behind the wheel. Groaning loudly I let out a short gasp, the paine huff sounding more like a lewd moaning than I had anticipated.
"God fucking..." I grumble, reaching a hand up to rub my tired eyes while I reach for one of the boxes in the back of my car. "...Going to need to be careful with this new voice, don't want people to think I'm..." I mutter, grabbing a handful of bank notes before shoving them into my jacket pocket.
With a low thud I kick the car door open, my shrunken athletic form hopping out as I wince at the rocks digging into my delicate feet.
"Shoes..." I hiss, slamming the car door shut before hopping and skipping my way to the office. "I need some fucking shoes or I swear to good I'm going to..." I angrily rant, my voice catching in my throat as I reach the front door to the cabin and shove it open.
A small bell rings overhead, the cramped little room beyond bathing me in a gust of warm air and harsh halogen light. The 'office' itself is extremely makeshift, a set of old tables having been used to form an L-Shaped desk that separates the cabin in half. On one side sits a small fridge along with a shelf of snacks, a list of printed out prices sitting between the two with exorbitant mark-ups for these everyday essentials.
Sitting on the 'desk' is a rather plain old LCD computer monitor with a large black case sitting beside it. A large space heater whirs beneath the front most table, a set of long skinny legs kicking back and forth in front of it. Behind the desk is a wall of keys, each sitting on a hook with a number above them and only a scant few missing from the relatively big display.
Seated behind the computer, the screen reflected in a set of side wire frame glasses, is a frail and rather taller woman. Her pale skin catches the blue light from the desktop on the screen, her own dark blue eyes becoming lost every so often as she drags windows around. Long and wiry dark brown hair springs out around her in a wild mane, a small hairband on the desk likely being all that had kept it in place over the course of the day.
"Oh!" the woman squeaks, a slender hand reaching up to adjust her glasses as she turns to look at me. Between the crows feet and laugh line the woman couldn't be younger than fifty, the grey roots in her scalp giving away a more advanced age than she'd likely want to let on. As she stands, towering over me at around six foot one, her glasses slide down her long hooked nose as she fumbles to catch them.
"I wasn't expecting..." she mutters, a hand clutching one of the arms of her glasses as she smooths out a bit of tape holding on the hinge. Her free hand reaches down to the mouse, the thin and withered fingers clicking at the mouse as she opens various windows. Her rail thin body is dressed in a rather practical outfit, a set of thick and hardy blue jeans along with a heavy jacket with the motor inn's logo on the chest. "... Did you have a booking or..." she asks, squinting a little at the screen before looking to me.
"No, I..." I begin to bleat, my eyes goign wide as I find myself looking up at someone to look them in the eye for the first time in over a decade. "... I... I was just needing a place to... It said you had vacancies on the sign out front..."
I freeze up as the older woman looks me over, her gaze narrowing as she takes in my tired form. For a moment she pauses, her eyes locking to my bare feet marred with subtle scratches from walking outside and a thick layer of dust from the dirt road.
"I have money!" I blurt out, fumbling into my pocket as I pull out a few hundred dollar. "I can pay cash... in advance if you need it for more..." I begin to blabber, the older woman's brow furrowing for a moment before her eyes go wide as if realizing something.
She gives a warm smile to me before reaching back behind her, her eyes looking up and away as if trying to remember something. Her long fingers dance over various sets of keys before finally landing on something, a set of keys begin carefully pulled from the wall as she turns towards the computer.
"That's perfectly alright dear" she coos softly, her gentle voice and smiling face contrasting with the deadly serious look in her eyes. "Not going to turn away someone in your situation, wouldn't be right..." she huffs, typing a little before placing the keys on the table.
"Situ..." I mutter dimly, my giggly voice leaving me sounding vacant of any real thought as I try to catch up to whatever this woman was talking about. My words fall away as she turns the screen around, a window showing my car filled with boxes in some black and white security feed while another simply outlined a room rental for one 'Ms Jane Doe'.
"That's your car right?" she asks, not really expecting an answer. "Boxes and barely dressed? Honey, I've been where you're standing so just... let... me..." she mutters, turning the screen back as she continues to click and type away at the computer.
"Oh... I..." I begin to pipe up, unsure exactly what to say to this strange woman.
"Rooms are $25 a night, for now at least" she explains, looking over to the fistful of cash in my hand. "Normally more, but think you'd have seen we're in the off-season and... well..." she stammers, pulling away from the keyboard as she stands back up and pushes the keys towards me.
As I step closer she holds out a hand, my eyes going wide as I hand her a couple of bills before plunging the rest into my pocket.
"You're in 101" she explains, her gaze darting down to the keys before smirking. "It's right next door, so feel free to pull your car in behind the office..." she explains, folding her arms across her modest chest. "... Keeps things a little more private from people on the road."
"I... um..." I mumble, my mind reeling as I realize how deep I was falling into this woman's misinterpretation of my current state. "Thank... you?" I manage to blurt out, my tired eyes wide as I fumble with the keys.
"You're paid up until next week" she states, turning back to the computer as she checks something. "I can extend things out if you need, but we'll play that by ear. For now, feel free to pull in and settle down in your room."
Giving the older woman a nod I quickly bound out into the cold night air, my hand fishing around in my pocket as I grab my car keys and race back to its inviting warmth.
Tumbling into the driver's seat I grit my teeth, my hand plunging the keys in as I bring the engine back to life.
"Shit..." I wheeze, my shoulders slumping as I creep the car forward past the office and around the corner behind it. Sitting next to the office is a large, albeit old, brown jeep caked in mud and in desperate need of a wash. Pulling in beside it I bring the car to a stop, my gaze darting up to my tired reflection in the mirror.
"Runaway?..." I mutter, squinting at my reflection through pale green eyes. "... Domestic violence? What does she..." I muse, my head beginning to ache as I rub the bridge of my delicate little button nose.
Reaching behind me I begin to consolidate the cash into a singular box, my laptop now resting atop a pile of cash sans the two-hundred dollars I had just handed off. With a groan I heave the box up, not wanting to leave that much money in my car, my legs kicking at the car door as I open it and slowly struggle my way towards my new temporary home.
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