It was a calm morning in California, with the strong sun hitting the horizon as a group of young people approached a town. A group of six individuals: Justin, Gabriel, Eliza, Victoria, Nora, and Francis. Justin was a young man like many others, calm, melancholic, depressive, and with a seriously questionable sense of humor. Gabriel was almost the opposite, energetic, cheerful, extroverted, sociable, and the only thing he had in common with Justin was his questionable humor. Eliza was a quiet and intelligent young woman, and nobody really knew much about her or why she was there. Victoria was talkative yet calm, with an insatiable desire for adrenaline. Nora was quiet, akin to Justin, her best friend; she too was drowsy and slow. And then there was Francis, the classic nerd – intelligent, talkative, and practically friendless; nobody thought it was a good idea to bring him along, he was practically included as a sacrifice (what "great" friends).
These six young people had gathered to do something that no one had done before: camp in Feroville for 15 days. Of course, nobody in their right mind would willingly go to an abandoned town for a vacation, but we're talking about a group of teenage youths here; it's obvious they're going to do something foolish.
"So, this is it? It would actually be inviting if it weren't for the emptiness," said a girl with purple hair, tied back and wearing a black hoodie – Nora.
"Yeah, very inviting, what with these rusty poles and decaying buildings," responded a bespectacled young man in a black hoodie – Justin.
"Oh, shut up, Justin. At least it's cleaner than your room," retorted Nora.
"Guys, could you please stop arguing?" Eliza said, irritated.
"But we're not arguing, we're just strengthening our friendship in a different way," Justin replied.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Fine, but let's get to the point: where are we going to stay in this town?" Eliza said.
"We could look for one of the old hotels that used to be here," suggested a red-haired young man with curly hair and glasses – Francis.
"That's an interesting idea, but won't they be dusty and dirty?" asked a dark-skinned young man with light brown eyes – Gabriel.
"No, a hotel abandoned 45 years ago won't be dusty and dirty, will it?" Justin said sarcastically.
"Was your room abandoned 45 years ago?" Gabriel inquired.
"I hereby dub thee Sir Comedian, Gabriel," Justin quipped.
"Why is it that Nora can talk about your room?" Gabriel said.
"Probably because she goes there almost every day," Eliza commented.
"Where did you get that from, Eliza?" Justin asked, annoyed.
"I heard you telling her to come to your house because you'd be alone on a certain day."
"Whoa, going in-depth, huh? - Gabriel teased.
"Guys, can we stop talking about Justin's and Nora's lives and focus on finding a place to stay? A Xupacu might just show up at any moment and end us," Francis said.
"That's true, guys, shelter is important. A bear, a raccoon, a coyote could show up. And if any of them is hungry, we might be crossing over to the other world sooner than we should," said a girl with green eyes, long brown hair – Victoria.
"Fine, let's go then," Gabriel said.
After much searching around the town, they found an old, abandoned hotel from the era when people still lived in Feroville. It had "Beach Roma" written at the entrance of the hotel.
"'Beach Roma,' what a strange name," Victoria commented.
"Indeed," Francis agreed.
They entered the hotel, which was dusty, dirty, and dark. Luckily, Eliza managed to turn on a light, but it didn't help much due to its age. Victoria noticed a strange creature crawling on the walls – it looked like a spider but had 16 legs and a large eye.
"Ew, what do you think they did in this town?" Victoria wondered aloud.
"I heard there was a cult here," Eliza replied.
"So, is that why you wanted to come along?" Victoria asked.
"Maybe, I'm not really sure why I came here."
Nora gathered everyone in the hotel's entrance hall, each facing a different direction:
"Guys, how about we split up to explore the hotel? It's not that big, so I think it's a good idea," Nora suggested, and everyone agreed.