Episode 5

Hair wet and matted, she found she had made it out of the rubble and into a part of the city where the streets were lined with the homeless, drug dealers, and prostitutes. The flashing glow of the neon ahead of her shined out like a beacon. She never thought she was happier to see a shabby, cheap motel in all her life. Walking up to the clerk, who was shielded by a matter of bars, she arranged for a room for the night.

Her clothes dripped as she slowly made her way up the stairs to the second floor. Swinging open the door, a terrible indescribable smell invaded her nostrils. Instinctively, her hand rose to her nose in an attempt to block out the smell.

"Geez, this place reeks."

With a quick inspection of her room, she found that brownish water came out of the sink, the shower didn't have water going to it at all, the toilet (which was filled with human waste) didn't flush, there looked to be mold on one of the walls, the window wouldn't shut, and the bed covers looked and smelled like they hadn't been washed in months.

She gave a sigh and walked over to the broken window. The rain was coming in through it, but at least there was fresh air by it. She doubted she would get any sleep but being able to get out of the rain was nice. It would be a few hours before the rain would stop, at which point she walked out onto the balcony of her room. She had the thought to go ahead and leave but she dismissed that.

Her head rolled back. "What I wouldn't give for a shower."

"Is that an offer?" Came a familiar voice.

She turned to see the black-haired man from before standing out on the balcony of the room next to her.

"Cause my shower works and the water's actually clearish." The man had a slight smile.

She looked hard at him as she considered his offer. "On second thought, I'm alright."

"What, you think I'm going to attack you or something?"

"That thought did cross my mind."

"Not all that trusting are we...? Tell you what, I'm needing to go out for a while. Why don't I give you the key and you can use my room to get cleaned up. Then I'll get the key back from you when I come back," he suggested.

"And if I decide I like your room better than mine, then what?" she smirked.

"Are you threatening to boot me out of my room?" The man chuckled.

She cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, I suppose the gentleman thing to do is let you have it and pay for a new one. At any rate, it's up to you. I've gotta go," he stated as he tossed her the key to his room.

Not a moment later, he vanished from his balcony. Looking at the key in her hand, she heard the door of his room shut. Going to the door of her room, she cracked it open and watched the strange young man walk on down the hall. Pushing the door to, she stood there thinking for a moment.

"That was a bit weird." She scratched the back of her neck.

'Gentleman thing huh? I didn't even know there was a man in these parts who still knew that word existed.'

She was still considering his offer and part of her couldn't believe she was actually considering it. She rubbed her thumb over the key.

'If I didn't feel so disgusting, I would have told him to get lost.'

She looked down at the key once more.

'He's gone. It's not like he'll be right in the other room. I should be fine.'

She stood there a moment longer before she snatched her bag off the floor and left her room. With a click, the door to the man's room unlocked and she slipped in, locking the door behind her. His room did smell better. She guessed that could be attributed to the fact that the window in his room shut. Which meant that the elements didn't just pour in, causing the walls and floor to mold. That being acknowledged, the room still stunk. She quickly gave the shower a try, and to her surprise, the man had not lied.

'Although it is rather cold, but beggars can't be choosers, or so my mother said.'

Some time had passed as she bathed and washed her clothes, hanging them to dry in the bathroom. Sitting there, she heard a knock at the door.

"You in there?" It was the man from earlier.

'Oh no, my jeans aren't dry yet,' she thought as she bit her lip.

"Um, yes, and you can't come in." She could hear a slight chuckle from the other side.

"So you are going to steal my room from me."

"Well, not intentionally. You can have my room," she said as she slid the key under the door. She could hear him pick it up.

"Right. Well, I'm glad I already got my shower in." His voice faded and she could hear him going into her room.