Ralph sighed, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He was driving back from a weekend teachers' convention that'd proven itself to be quite boring. Though, he was glad to have gotten away from Bill and his scenarios. And not once during the weekend had he thought of Mona possibly appearing.

Ralph shook his head. "Great, I had to remember her."

It was late and the highway Ralph was on was almost desolate. The night air was cool after a relatively warm day, so he had his window rolled down. He still had another half day or so of driving left and decided it best to find a hotel for the night. Out of the darkness, a light ahead caught his attention. He noticed how the light practically shimmered.

Ralph squinted at the light. "Looks like it might be a beacon of some sort." He chuckled. "Or a lighthouse, but I think I'm a little too far inland for that."

As he neared, he realized it was indeed a hotel. "Finally." He pulled into the parking lot, parked, and cut the engine. Ralph felt so tired, all he wanted to do was check in and go to sleep. He glanced around the lot as he got out of the car. "Huh, not too many cars. Atleast I know there's a good chance of vacancies." He grabbed his bag from the back of the station wagon, hit the lock, and bumped the door closed with his hip.

Ralph made his way up the walk and noticed someone strike a match. "Must be the Concierge," he told himself, though he couldn't see their face and only a little of their clothing. Somewhere in the distance, he heard twelve chimes, signaling midnight. Despite the warm air, a cold breeze came through, chilling Ralph to the bone. He shuddered as he reached the steps where the person stood.

Ralph didn't get a good look at the person since it was so dark and the only light came the the match she held. He thought it looked as though they wore a black dress, tipping him off that it was a woman without hearing her speak. He still couldn't see her face.

She was standing in the doorway, a pair of glass double doors behind her. "Follow me, please."

Another chill ran through Ralph, as they passed through the double doors. He could've sworn he'd heard that voice before, but she hadn't spoken enough for him to pick it out. His better judgement started screaming for him to turn around and leave, but he suddenly felt so tired that he really didn't want to make the effort of finding another hotel this late at night.

This late, he thought. He wasn't sure now what'd kept him on the road for so long... other than that it seemed as though every hotel he passed had no vacancies. Then again, he was no stranger to sleeping in his car, either.

Ralph found the hallway dark, just as dark as it was outside. An eerie feeling crept over him. He shook his head and told himself he was making it up. That is, until he heard voices coming from down the hall, though he couldn't make out what they were saying. He gulped.

The woman stopped in front of a doorway.

Ralph, however, was lost in thought and ended up walking into her. "I'm so sorry!" Being that close, he still couldn't see her face. The shadows fell over her just so that no matter where she held the match, her face remained in darkness.

The woman said nothing. Instead, she opened the door she stood next to and pointed in that direction.

Ralph, again against his better judgement, stepped through the door. Moonlight shown over the greenery. It took a moment for his brain to register that the room was a greenhouse.

The room was large, and in the center was a courtyard. Ralph walked along the pathway to get a closer look. He found a group of people dancing... all men. He did a double-take upon seeing the woman who'd led him to the room already in the courtyard dancing.

"This is weird," Ralph muttered to himself. He turned to head back up the path and nearly ran into a man who seemed to have suddenly appeared behind him. In the dark, Ralph didn't have a good look at the man's face, either. Ralph grinned. "So, uh, do you have any wine here?"

The man shook his head. Then Ralph thought he heard the voices again, slightly louder this time, but still undecipherable.

The man reached out and took Ralph's hand. Ralph jumped at the touch... and realized he couldn't pull away. The man pulled him out of the greenhouse, back into the hallway, Ralph struggling the entire time, and past a few doors, before stopping at one and opening it. He shoved Ralph in and followed, closing the door after him, while Ralph stumbled to the floor.

A dim light shown in the room. Ralph, sprawled on the floor, looked up. He was at the foot of a bed adorned in dark sheets. He started to get up, but was then picked up, and he realized the man was still there. He pushed Ralph over, causing the blond to flop onto the bed. Ralph rolled over and, before sitting up, saw the mirror on the ceiling.

Ralph's heart was pounding in his chest. He had no idea of what was going on, or why. He did know that he didn't like the way it was going. Sitting up, he finally got a good look at the man's face. It was his own face, but the curly hair was longer and jet black.

"It's you!" Ralph gasped, remembering the twin who'd broken his hand a few months back.

The twin smirked. "We have champagne," he spoke.

Ralph gulped. How he wished he had the suit, then maybe he wouldn't be in this predicament. He pushed back on the bed farther, trying to get away in anyway possible. His eyes widened as the man walked around the bed, moving closer to him. Ralph rolled away, but didn't move quick enough. His twin grabbed him under his arms and pulled him back.

The twin pushed him down, flat on his back, then swung his leg over, straddling Ralph.

Ralph put his hands up and gripped the twin's shoulders, trying to push him away. "Hey! I don't know what you're doing...!"

The twin easily removed Ralph's hands from his shoulders and pushed them down to rest on the bed. He sneered. "Call me Alex."

Ralph gulped. "Alex," he repeated, his voice shaking. "What are you... doing?"

"Having fun," Alex responded easily. He smirked, then leaned down and kissed Ralph fully on the lips.

----------------

The main hall was made up for a great feast. Many tables adorned the room, as well as guests. Silver serving trays were set up around the room. People began to sit as a pair walked through a set of double doors.

Ralph's head was spinning. Alex helped him remain standing.

The twin wore an evil smirk as he helped Ralph sit at a nearby table. The woman who'd brought Ralph in walked up to them. She motioned to Alex and he nodded. She walked away. Ralph watched her walk away, trying to remember where he'd seen her before. He shook his head trying to clear it and focus.

Alex put a hand on Ralph's thigh and leaned closer. "The feast is beginning."

"Feast?" Ralph asked, wearily. He knew he wasn't hungry, but had no energy to argue. He watched hazily as everyone was seated and the trays were uncovered. Each tray seemed to have one form or another of some type of dead animal.

Ralph could tell what each animal was. His stomach turned and he gagged at the sight. Then a shout caught his attention. He turned his head and watched as two people chased after an animal.

A black and white creature ran across the floor. A woman said that whatever it was, it looked like it had a white goatee. The man next to her asked, "Was that a black cat? Or a tuxedo?"

Ralph would've atleast grinned at the humor if his stomach hadn't been doing backflips. He felt ill. Images of the dead animals flashed through his mind... as well as the returning memory of what Alex had done to and with him. The images floated through his mind, taunting him. That's when he remembered the woman.

"Mona!" He jumped up and ran for the double doors, Alex following. He skidded just outside them and ran back down the hall. Reaching the end, Ralph found a man in a suit who looked oddly enough like a valet. "How do I get out of here?" Ralph asked, his voice weak.

"Relax," he began, "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."

"Don't let him leave!" Alex called out, running towards them.

Ralph's jaw hung open. No! his brain screamed. He pushed around the suited man and ran down the hallway he'd come in through. He spotted the main entrance and ran as fast as he could. All that blocked his way were the glass double doors. He knew this was going to hurt and leave a mark.

Ralph put his arms over his face and crashed through the glass doors, shattering them. He kept running and finally reached the station wagon. He jumped in and peeled out as fast as the car would allow, burning some rubber. Within seconds, the hotel was left in the dust.

Alex came to a stop in the busted doorway and slammed a fist into the wall. He was fuming. "Dammit! He was the best I've had in decades!" He kept grousing as he turned and headed back down the hallway to tell Mona the bad news.

Ralph sighed, finally relaxing a bit. He hit the radio dial and a song came on.

Ralph hit the radio dial again, turning the radio off. He gave a yelp and pulled the wagon abruptly to the side of the road. He sat back in the seat, breathing heavily.

Ralph knew he hadn't been broken, but he felt like he'd cracked a fair amount from that experience. Warily, he started back onto the road and decided to make the entire rest of the drive home. There was no way that he was stopping again.

-End-