Maize

The room looked lonelier than I was. I propped open the door and poured a drink, wondering if alcohol might've been illegal the last time someone had slept here. As the cool night air filtered in and pushed the stagnant atmosphere of the room out, I put my feet up and sipped my whiskey. Thankfully, I had gotten a large room. The small ones were probably standing room only.

A small person passed in front of the open door, mostly hidden beneath the fur-lined hood of a thick jacket. Judging by how beaten up the parka was, undoubtedly heading for one of the aforementioned standing room only rooms. They appeared to be having a small amount of difficulty with a soda can. Or, depending on how one looked, they were holding the can carefully between a large thumb and forefinger as they delicately worked it open with the tips of claws the length of a person's face.

"Evening." I called out. "Care to join me for a drink?"

Leaving the door open let me see who else might be lurking about. There seemed to be a number of lost strangers in town. The motel was probably busier now than prom night.

The stranger leapt nearly five feet in the air and nearly dropped their drink. Fortunately, they hadn't managed to get it open yet, and caught it deftly. When they peered in to see who'd spoken to them, they revealed themselves to be female if the height hadn't already been a good indicator. She's very still as large, suspicious-looking red eyes take him in. After a moment, she seemed to decide he wasn't an enemy, at least not immediately. She didn't step in yet, though. "Maybe," she replied. "Who are you?"

"Marlowe, another lost in the Maize." I slid a chair out for the girl. She was another deadly beauty, just my luck. "I can open that for you."

"I got it," she replied, slowly, carefully slipping inside, sniffing the air as she did. She paused before she reached the chair, then groaned. "That was a lame pun. I'm Reina Silva."

"They can't all be winners." I shrugged. "So, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

Truth was, she was more grumpy because it took her a minute to catch it than anything. She went back to work opening the can as she did, folding a leg under her. "I'm traveling and working as I go. Friend of mine told me there was something odd in the air around here." She looked toward in, sniffing the air as she did. "You remind me of him. What're you doing here yourself?"

"Pretty much the same." I shrugged. "I'm an investigator. I heard there was something up here I should look into. We're not the only ones, either."

"Oh, you're also an investigator. That's why," she said, sipping at her drink. "Different brand of whiskey, though."

"Who else?"