Running for the Door

Ella can see the hotel and it is a good thing as she is exhausted. Driving non-stop for 6 hours is enough to make you go cross-eyed. It is almost midnight and Ella cannot wait to get into bed. Pulling into the roundabout, she turns off the ignition, pockets her keys and gets out. A bellhop is there to greet her; she opens the trunk of her car and he grabs her suitcase. Ella smiles and says “thank you”, but the bellhop just stares at her with a blank expression on his face. Puzzled by his face, Ella doesn’t know what to think. He turns to head inside and Ella follows behind. The doorman opens the door and bows his head in greeting. Again, Ella thanks him, and she hears him say under his breath “leave now”. Chills run down Ella’s spine. As she walks in to the hotel, she cannot help but notice the elegant décor. When she booked this room over the Internet she found reviews comparing the beauty of the hotel to that of a castle, and she was not disappointed. However beautiful the hotel is she still has an eerie feeling that something is not right. She follows the bellhop to the front desk, gives her name and checks in for the night. The front desk attendant is very polite, and says, “Sam, our bellhop will show you to your room. You’re staying in room 405”.

“Thank you” Ella replies and follows the bellhop to the elevator. The ride up to her room is silent. Stepping off the elevator she turns left behind Sam. He pulls out the key to her room unlocks the door and opens it to allow Ella to enter first. As she walks in, Sam turns on the light behind her. Ella notices the furnishings in here are different from that of the lobby. It is dark, heavy velvet material covers everything. There are embers burning in the fireplace, but Ella can still feel a chill. She looks at the curtains to see if there is a draft, but the curtains do not move. She turns to thank Sam and in an attempt to give him a tip he shakes his head no, and turns and walks out rather abruptly.
Ella turns to face her room again, something is wrong. Her breathing begins to accelerate, feeling slightly light headed Ella sits at the edge of her bed. A quiet moan behind Ella makes her jump. She stands up to see if someone is behind her and finds nothing. Chuckling, she opens her suitcase and pulls out her pajamas, thankful she packed warm ones. Changing and getting into bed, she puts her head down and falls asleep quickly. Startled awake by a blazing heat she opens her eyes she sees fire everywhere. Sitting up and screaming, Ella turns to get out of bed but there are snakes covering the floor. Screaming for help, she wonders if anyone can hear her. Ella looks for a weapon and sees her cell phone beside her. She calls the first number in her address book. As she places the phone up to her ear and looks up again, the snakes have disappeared and there is no more fire. She jumps out of bed looks at the coals in the fire. The phone in her room begins to ring, thinking it is someone from the front desk, she answers only to hear herself say “hello?” She hangs up both phones and selects another number on her cell phone. Her room phone begins to ring again. “Hello?” She answers knowing what no one is there. Packing her things, she goes to the door, struggling to unlock the door, panic washes over her. When the door is open, she runs to the elevator down to the front lobby. As the doors of the elevator open, her mouth drops in shock. Stepping off the elevator, she looks at the once beautifully decorated lobby now burned and charred. Not wanting to stay, she throws her bag over her shoulder and runs out the front door. Finding her car exactly where she left it, grabs her keys and starts the ignition. Without a backward glance, she leaves the hotel and swears never to come back this way.

Don't forget to check out my blog - http://cgreyes.wordpress.com/