HOSTIS (Now On Webnovel and Coming Soon To Goodnovel and Meganovel)

A Fitting Punishment

 A Fitting Punishment

Room 21, No Tell Motel, Unknown City, Unknown State...

      The door gave way once they reached the room number that had been on the key and the angry driver opened it to find that they had been given a small room that smelled as if it had not been properly ventilated for months following the last round of upkeep. It was surprisingly clean despite the stained dark green carpet and the unimpressive brown furniture that consisted of a brown loveseat, a brown round table fit for two people to eat comfortably, and two brown metal folding chairs. There was an area where the television sat on top of another brown table and a small white air conditioner.

He could see the entrance to the bathroom where there was a tub and shower connection and of course a basic toilet. Just as the door knob smacked against the wall in an announcement that the room would be occupied for the first time in a long time, Lex pushed passed him and entered making a b-line for the bathroom.

The driver closed and locked the door behind him flicking on the lights and getting out of his jacket and tie in seconds before tossing them collectively into a nearby armchair which had also been brown. He had not been a fan of the decor, but it was somewhere to sleep for the night. If there was ever a time to be grateful for their nomadic lifestyle this was it.

They never had the privilege of staying in any place for too long.

Sounds of someone emptying the entire contents of their stomach and then into a toilet rang out and caused him to approach the bathroom door. The sound of more vomiting had slightly disgusted him and he turned his attention to other matters. There was a minibar not far from the bed and it was filled to the brim with booze. He took the money he collected from the drunken fools which had been wrapped a large amount of bills into a roll and stuffed them back into his pocket after counting the spoils.

After a couple of drinks, he heard the sound of the shower running and knew that Lex had opted to get in the shower following the wrenching experience. The driver took off his shirt and tossed it into the same chair as his jacket and tie. He'd been down to a white tank top undershirt and his suit slacks.

He leaned back onto the bed amid the pillows and grabbed the nearby remote to turn on the television.

He'd been amused by the commercials for a time until the late-night news report showed an image of a man resembling him wearing a navy blue suit with well-combed hair and a freshly shaven face sporting a silver wedding band and a doctor's badge on the left side of his chest appeared.

Beneath the old photo as he looked to have been about twenty years younger was the name Dr. Hadrian S. Rawsone and he'd been labeled as Missing.

{"Mr. Rawsone was last seen three months ago, just outside of this office when he inevitably disappeared with no witnesses or a trace of his whereabouts."}

The driver didn't know much about this, Hadrian Rawsone, but it appeared his wife had missed him a great deal. She wasn't such a bad looker either.

Having had his fill of apparently depressing television for one night, the driver switched it off and downed the rest of his drink. He found himself staring at his image in a mirror that he had not realized was behind the front door, possibly out of convenience when one wished to get dressed. Unable to help himself, he ventured over toward the mirror, and for the first time he took notice of the image of the man from the news report staring back at him.

The man with Hadrian's face moved back toward the mini bar and helped himself to yet another bottle of booze. Not long after the drink had been finished, the door to the bathroom had opened and a rather thin sixteen-year-old lad with a flat chest and a white towel wrapped around his waist stepped out into the room. His hair was short and bleached blond in appearance. His pale blue eyes seemed to be fixated upon the half-dressed older man who had been patiently awaiting his return to the room.