It’s gorgeous out! Tom thought to himself. And then he saw the smoke. Huge ashen clouds of it billowed on the horizon.
Hastily, he sprinted back to the station and alerted the men. Presently, they were on their way toward the source of the smoke. As they drew nearer, Tom could see a building.
“That’s strange,” he muttered, “I didn’t know anyone lived all the way out here.”
“That used to be a famous hotel,” one of the men replied. “It was called The Vineyard. Once, people from all over the world would come to stay there, but then the old widow who owned the place decided she had had enough, took her kids and moved away about twenty years ago. No one has been there since.”
“Then I wonder what caused the fire?” Tom pondered. “Fires don’t just happen for no reason…”
As they pulled up to the hotel, Tom thought he saw a shadowy figure shifting in the trees, but who would be up here?
The fire was effortlessly put out, and an investigation began for the cause of the fire. It was amazing inside the hotel. Even though it was charred and soggy, traces of the original beauty could still be found. There was a massive staircase leading up to the second and third floors. Even though they were burnt to a crisp, you could easily imagine what the furnishings must have looked like...
(Click here to read the rest of Rosalie's story, along with the stories of two of her classmates.)
The Vineyard Hotel