Bundles of snowflakes raced to the ground in the dark December night. Lauren walked alongside the road shielding her face from the oncoming snow. “Hey mom, it seems like I’m going to have to stay in Vancouver for the night. The storm is pretty bad here. I’ll call you in the morning. Love you.” She could start making out a building in the distance through the thick layers of snow. She sighed, relieved that she wouldn’t be spending the night in her car with a broken down heater, which she’s meant to bring into the shop for weeks but hadn’t had a chance to. “It’s always work,” her mother would persistently say to her. She would nag her to get out of her bunched up apartment and enjoy herself, but Lauren was fine with ordering pizza on friday nights in her one bedroom apartment beside the company of the tv. She was only here for a conference she had attended the previous day. She spent the night in a nice hotel on the other side of the city, which was paid for by her work, and was supposed to leave in the morning. The next available flight was tomorrow morning due to the storm. She finally made it to the building. It was a small bed and breakfast that looked like it hadn’t had any business in years. When she walked in, the lobby smelled of the pages of an old history book she had used in school. “Is anyone here?....Hello?” Her voice filled the dusty corners of the room. She started to feel cold, as if a breeze swept through the heavy glass doors and into the building. Her eyes were stuck to the paintings hung across the wall. They were all family portraits that looked like they were from the 1800s. When she turned around, there was a lady standing behind the front desk as if she was placed there by some mysterious force. Lauren’s heart jumped. “Oh my gosh, you scared me.” She laughed, relieved. The lady wore bright red lipstick that smudged at the corners of her mouth and a high bun that sat on her head sternly.

“May I help you?” she said with a grin. 

“Yes, do you have any availability for tonight?” Lauren asked timidly. 

“Will room 302 do?” 

“Of course!” Lauren said happily. As the lady searched through the drawers Lauren added, “It seems like you don’t get a lot of visitors around here.” 

“You’d be surprised,” she said as she handed Lauren a brass key with her room number carved into it.

“Follow those stairs up and the room will be on your left.”

“Thank you!” Lauren said with a smile. The key smelled of the same old history book she had noticed when she first entered the building. She made her way up the steps which were covered in a red carpet with golden accents, and creaked with every step. The carpet flared out into a long hallway that went the same distance to the right as it did to the left. She followed the lady’s instructions and turned to the left. Once she made it to her room she stuck the old key into the handle and it made a satisfying *click.* The room was smaller than she had expected, with furniture filling up every gap, but it was exactly what she had wanted. It almost reminded Lauren of her apartment back home. She went directly to the twin-sized bed which  was laid in the dead center of the room and let out a sigh of relief. She must’ve been so tired that she didn’t even realize her eyes shut and was surprised to see the sun seeping through the curtains the next morning. She looked out the window at the fresh piles of snow. She turned on the radio next to her bed and the weatherman blasted in her ears, “That sure was a storm last night folks. As of now Route 17 and 18 are closed. There were 4 accidents this morning in South Fraser….” His voice disappeared as she stared out the window. She lost any hope in making it home that day.  She ran over to her black leather work bag which was left on the floor from the previous night and took her laptop out to check her emails, but nothing was loading. The top left of her screen read “NO SERVICE” in bold black letters. “Are you kidding?!” she muttered to herself. She shut her laptop and decided to see if there was a wifi password at the front desk. When she stepped out of her room, the hallway seemed like it was never ending, until she finally made it to the stairs. She walked over to the desk, but there was no one there, so she waited a few minutes until she decided to look for herself. She crept behind the high countertop and scanned the papers, searching for any signs of a password. She came across a set of blue files and each one had a different name at the top. She opened one titled “Johnson” and inside were scattered newspaper articles of the same family. There was a little boy, a little girl, a mom, and a dad. The articles were all titled “MISSING FAMILY” in huge letters. Lauren stared at the articles, confused. Why would a bed and breakfast have these? She was reluctant to explore more but her hand had already grasped for another file before she could think it over. This file was titled, “Miller.” The articles looked almost identical to the previous ones, except for the new faces substituted in for the old ones. She recognized these faces but couldn’t put her finger to it. Finally, she looked up and hanging on the wall was a portrait of the same family. She had seen these faces when she first entered the building the previous day. Why these families? Why here? A sharp pain arose in her chest. Before she could investigate further, she heard some murmurs in the distance. She quickly closed the files and crept back around to the other side of the desk. She couldn’t see anyone in her line of sight but the murmuring persisted. She tried to follow the sound with her ear and realized it had been coming from downstairs. The sound started to increase until...it was coming upstairs! She darted for the stairs when a voice came from behind her. “Where were you going?” It was the same lady who had checked her in.

 “Oh, I was just looking for a wifi password, but I think I’ll wait.” 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m not feeling my best right now. I think I’m going to get some rest.” 

“Ok let us know if anything is wrong.” Lauren’s heart pounded as she walked quickly up the stairs. When she got to her room, she shut the door behind her and jumped under her covers. She couldn’t sleep for most of the night because her mind was on the families. What if they were the murmurs from downstairs? How am I going to get out of here? Her thoughts crowded her mind, until she couldn’t take it anymore. She decided to go downstairs and search for herself. She threw on a robe hanging on the bathroom door and slipped her phone into one of the pockets, in case she needed to call for help. She turned the doorknob very slowly and closed the door quietly behind her. She turned on her phone flashlight and tiptoed down the long hallway. She looked back and was relieved to see no one following her. She crept down the stairs, making sure not to make the slightest creak, and pressed each foot precisely on the next step as if it were a type of science. Sweat began to form on her forehead. Finally, she made it to the bottom and searched for a door to the basement. Suddenly, the sound of a baby crying came from below. She followed the sound to a door on the other side of the staircase which was...creaked open. She looked at the door, with fear bulging out of her eyes, and opened it slowly. The crying stopped. She walked down the stairs, holding the railing tightly with all of her might. The basement was unfinished with pipes gutting out from the walls and ceiling. There was no sign of anyone. Am I going crazy? After one last glimpse around the room, she started to head back upstairs when she heard a thump. Her heart stopped in her chest. She picked up a broken pipe from the ground and aimed it in front of her. She walked steadily over to a closet in the back room, her eyes fixed on the door. She reached for the knob and when she went to open there was a young girl, cradling a baby with tears in her eyes. The girl had straggly, long brown hair and dirt marks across her face.

“Are you going to hurt me?” she said fearfully. 

“No, no. I’m going to help you. Where are your parents?” 

“Over there.” She pointed to another closet on the other side of the room. Suddenly there was a thumping coming from upstairs. Lauren made a quiet motion to the little girl. 

“Who's down there?” The voice pierced the room. 

“Let them go” she said firmly

“Lauren? You're not supposed to be down here.”

“I know you stole them. Let them go.” 

“I can’t do that, but I can add one more to my collection,” she said as she moved closer. Suddenly, there was loud knocking coming from upstairs and a voice yelled, “It’s the police, open up!” The lady looked at Lauren shockingly and darted for the stairs but before she made it to the top Lauren took the pipe from behind her back and hit the lady hard in the back of her head. She went toppling down the stairs and laid faint on the floor. Lauren ran to the door and told the police everything that had happened. She felt the most alive she had been in years as the sirens flashed all around her. 

…….. 

“So how did you know to call the police?” Lauren said to her mom on the phone. 

“Well, you hadn’t called me in a day and that was very unlike you. I figured something was up, so I found your location and made the call.” 

“I can’t thank you enough, Mom.” 

“I’m just glad you're safe. No more going out for you now!” her mom said with a laugh. 

“I am actually going out with my friends tonight. I’ll make sure not to stay at any creepy bed and breakfasts this time.” 

“Ok, enjoy your night and call me later. Love you.”