QUINN’S BODY THUMPED to the left, then to the right. Her hand found Kara’s just as the car screeched to a halt, tearing up the gravel on the shoulder of the road. Everyone talked at once.
“What was that?” yelled Josh.
“What’s going on?” screamed Kara.
“Spencer?”
Mr. Cawston ripped off his seat belt and turned to face the back. “Is everyone okay? Kara? Quinn?”
“What happened?” said Mrs. Cawston.
“I-I don’t know,” he stammered. “Did you see those lights, Min?”
“What was it?” asked Kara, still squeezing Quinn’s hand.
“Aliens,” whispered Josh.
Quinn stared out the window. Beyond the reach of the headlights, shadows danced.
Mrs. Cawston let out a deep breath. She adjusted her glasses. “Don’t be silly. It was a truck or transport. We’ve been driving over thirteen hours.” She touched her husband’s hand. “You need a break, Spence. Let’s stop for the night.”
Mr. Cawston rubbed his eyes. He sighed and nodded. “I think I saw a sign near Norm’s. There’s a hotel on the border between Nevada and California. It shouldn’t be far.” He took another deep breath, slipped the car into gear, and eased back onto the road.
“My mom,” said Quinn suddenly. “I should call her.”
Mrs. Cawston got out her cell phone and turned it on. The interior of the car glowed blue in the darkness. “Darn. No service.”
“My battery died hours ago,” said Mr. Cawston. “And I forgot the car charger.”
“Great,” said Josh. “My tablet’s dead, too.”
“Don’t worry, Quinn,” said Mrs. Cawston reassuringly. “When we get to a hotel, we’ll charge the phones. You can call then. And you,” she said, pointing an admonishing finger at Josh, “you can survive a night without aliens.”
Josh huffed and tossed the tablet onto the empty seat beside him.
In the back, Kara squeezed Quinn’s hand. Quinn winced. A thin dark line circled her wrist. The bracelet had cut into her skin.
“What’s wrong?” whispered Kara.
“It’s nothing.”
Kara eyed the linked bracelets and sighed. “Sooner or later, we’re going to have to untie them.”
Quinn knew Kara was right, but her words hurt more than the cut. No matter what Quinn did, no matter how hard she tried, she was going to lose Kara.
She began picking at the threads once again. The knot was tighter. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to undo it.
They traveled in silence for some time before Quinn noticed something had changed. The hum had stopped. She jiggled a finger in one ear and listened hard, but it was like someone had hit the mute button.
She dug harder into the knotted threads until they came undone. Her hand fell free just as Mr. Cawston slowed the car. He pointed to a huge billboard caught in the headlights.
“That must be it—the hotel between states,” said Mr. Cawston.
“ZZZZZ? What kind of an exit is that?” said Quinn.
“Don’t you get it?” said Kara. “ZZZZZ. As in sleep.”
“Clever,” said Mrs. Cawston.
Kara’s dad hit the gas and the car lurched forward. “A few days before we left I was checking out the map and I saw a road around here called Z-Z-Y-Z-X. You pronounce it Zizicks. I looked it up and supposedly some crazy old man named it. Wanted it to be the last word in the dictionary. People still call it the last place on earth.” He paused to yawn deeply. “Didn’t notice any road called Z-Z-Z-Z-Z, though. At least not on the map I was looking at.”
“Well,” said Kara, “maybe there was an even crazier guy who wanted his place to be the very very last place on earth, so he called it ZZZZZ, pronounced ZZZZZ.” She buzzed extra long and everyone laughed.
Just then a sign appeared in the distance. It was the blue Welcome to California sign with golden letters and matching golden poppies. Right before it was exit ZZZZZ. An arrow pointed to an off-ramp that led behind dark hills of desert gravel.
The minivan bumped and jostled for what seemed like forever. With nothing and no one else in sight, Quinn felt like they were driving on the dark side of the moon.
“I think I saw the same jagged hill three times already,” said Kara. “We’re driving in circles.”
Josh swallowed. “Just like that episode of Star Trek where the Enterprise is stuck in a rift in the space-time continuum…”
“Look! I see it,” said Kara.
Quinn stared into the darkness. A tiny light shimmered in the distance.
“That must be the place,” said Mrs. Cawston.
As they drew nearer, the silhouette grew brighter and clearer. It was nothing like the boxy roadside motel Quinn had expected. Instead, the hotel, perched high on a hill, looked more like an enormous Victorian mansion, with long, lean windows all alit.
“Cool,” said Josh.
The building was a few stories tall. Quinn gazed up at the roof. It was steep, surrounded by what looked like a wrought-iron fence. In the center sat a separate, smaller structure with oval windows. It reminded Quinn of a jeweled crown sitting on top of a majestic head. All the protruding windows were like giant eyes.
The building seemed very old. Quinn couldn’t make out the exact color. Perhaps light blue or gray—but it shone nearly white in the darkness.
The minivan left the gravel road and glided onto the circular drive. They pulled under a red canopy that stuck out from the front entrance like a huge velvety tongue.
Kara’s dad got out of the car. He said he was going to check at the front desk and see if they had a room available before he parked.
Kara’s mom laughed. “You seriously think this place is short on vacancies?”
“You never know,” he responded. “Could be a convention going on.”
Quinn wondered what sort of convention would take place in a hotel in the middle of the desert. Rattlesnake? Elvis?
Josh slid open his door. “I’m coming with you.”
“Me too,” said Kara, scrambling after him.
“Come on, Quinn,” said Mrs. Cawston. “I’m sure they have a room. I’ll get the overnight. Save us some time.”
She stepped out of the minivan and Quinn followed her around to the rear. It was filled with boxes and bags—as much stuff as they could cram into it. Mostly clothes but some books and art. The rest of their belongings and furniture had been shipped. Kara’s mother retrieved a paisley overnight bag filled with pajamas and toiletries she’d packed just in case.
Quinn hustled to catch up to Kara, who stood waiting at the front of the hotel. She passed flower beds lit with lanterns, where all sorts of exotic plants and shrubs danced in the flickering glow. It was the most green she’d seen since they left Denver.
The entrance door was massive—made of carved oak panels and bound with gold-colored bars. In front of the door stood a tall man with enormous shoulders and charcoal hair. He wore a scarlet velvet jacket with shiny brass buttons and gray pants with a black velvet stripe down each side. His skin glistened in the lantern glow.
“Welcome to Inn Between,” he said in a voice as deep and velvety as his jacket. He smiled and swung the heavy door wide.
Quinn observed him as she passed. He stared at her with intense black eyes. They didn’t blink.